Fly Newt to Mars.

With all this hubla about Newt being a conservative, where is the money coming from to build a colony of 1,300 people on the moon? I'M REALLY shocked. You'd think he rather colonize a RED planet like Mars. LOL

Jan Brewer just shed her prickly finger and her leather skin!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=hwxNVnPKaPE

==========================================================

I bet she her skin petrified all the rats in the sewer.

Jan Brewer A Disrespectful Alzheimers Liar

Yes, Alzheimers, do you recall that long period of silence during her campaign debate session????

FYI: that "B" is lucky the Secret Service didn't take her lying @ss out.

A National Public Radio (NPR) report from October 2010 suggested that CCA, through ALEC, was also responsible for Arizona's infamous anti-immigrant law SB1070.

Arizona state Sen. Russell Pearce says the bill was his idea. He says it's not about prisons. It's about what's best for the country. . . But instead of taking his idea to the Arizona statehouse floor, Pearce first took it to a hotel conference room.

CCA lobbied heavily for the passage of S.B. 1070, Arizona's anti-immigration bill. Just a week after the bill was introduced, CCA hired Highground Consulting, one of the most influential lobbying groups in Phoenix, to lobby on its behalf. In addition, Governor Jan Brewer's spokesman had previously worked as CCA's chief lobbyist in Arizona during his time at the Policy Development Group, and continues to lobby the legislature for CCA even to this day.

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Corrections_Corporation_of_America

New weekly unemployment claims still fewer than 400,000 at 377K – up 21K from last week.

"(1) he kept calling on Congress to send him bills to sign - making the point that he's not omniscient and can't fix this country alone, but is waiting on Congress to take action

(2) every time he brought up the 99%/1% issue or equal taxation, he made a point to talk about himself first. He always said "people like me." Conservatives love to point out that "he's one of them" when people bring up the 99%/fairness argument."

Those words are from one of our own, JLS lotsanumbers, and perfectly show where we are as a nation today; horribly divided and polarized. Exploited by Corporate America and Big Money, minor differences are shamelessly inflamed to distract us from the redistribution of capital to the wealthiest sector in the country - The one-per-cent.

The 1% neither earns nor works for their money, they simply take it, and have the nerve to complain they can't keep enough. Their solution? Those with no money must pay more. This actually makes sense to these people. Money isn't income. That's straight from the mouth of Mitt Romney, the guy who tells us corporations are people. How stupid must we be to believe lies of that magnitude?

President Obama has never presented himself as "The Messiah", although his message of care and concern for all Americans is the essence of the Golden Rule. Yet, the right-wing tools and fools continue to demonize the President, and in the face of mountains of evidence to the contrary, insist he is divisive. There is nowhere to be found a more perfect textbook definition of projection.

President Obama calls for higher taxes for "people like me". Never once has he called for class warfare. Never once has he stoked envy. We have seen huge tax CUTS during his administration, yet his opponents say he has increased taxes. The lies flow non-stop.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, consider the photo of the Wicked Witch of the Southwest, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer. Finger in President Obama's face, it is impossible to escape the notion that she is dressing down the nation's Chief Executive. Was this tough-on-illegal's Governor upbraiding President Obama for being lax on enforcement of immigration law? Why not? Lies are the number one ingredient in dogma food.

It is an unequivocal fact that President Obama's record of enforcement on illegal immigration is superior to his predecessor's in every respect.

Romney and Gingrich rail endlessly against President Obama's economic policy. The anti-capitalist Obama's policies are a failure they say. The real answer they say is not to simply return to the Bush model, but to give greater tax cuts to the rich than ever before.

Back up to January 19, 2009. The TARP bailout was already in place, thanks to Treasury Secretary Paulson's demand for seven-hundred-billion-dollars with no oversight. Trust me, I'll fix the economy I said was just fine a couple days ago. GDP was crashing; two consecutive quarters of negative growth, accelerating to minus 8.9%. Hundreds of thousands of jobs disappeared, month after month. The nation had its first trillion-dollar budget deficit. All this, BEFORE President Obama took office.

And the right-wing has the gall to say President Obama should have turned this mess around in three years? These people are not merely dishonest, they are stone-cold liars, and sadly, millions of people believe them. These millions are impervious to fact. Whether simply because they are bigots, whether it is about identity politics, or whether sheer ignorance, the fact is they will not be moved and they cannot be moved.

Nothing scares me more than listening to the folks who confidently say that President Obama is a shoo-in for a second term. He is not. It is foolish to underestimate the power of ignorance and hate.

Poor Joe, reduced to nitpicking. Tough isn't it Joe? Is this all you got???

Voters can now look at the GOP front runners and are deciding that they would rather dance with the devil they know.

That sounds like what Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, who chairs the Democratic Governors Association, recently said, "He's not running against the Almighty, he's running against an alternative."

In this case Obama will either be running against the grownup version of Chucky the Homicide Doll (Newt) or the Amazing Plastic Man (Mitt). Of course Obama's true opponent will be the economy, if it weren't in the doldrums neither Chucky or the Plastic Man would stand a chance.

David ....... great post and this paragraph needs to be posted every single day and become our mantra.

'Nothing scares me more than listening to the folks who confidently say that President Obama is a shoo-in for a second term. He is not. It is foolish to underestimate the power of ignorance and hate.'

David ....... great post and this paragraph needs to be posted every single day and become our mantra.

'Nothing scares me more than listening to the folks who confidently say that President Obama is a shoo-in for a second term. He is not. It is foolish to underestimate the power of ignorance and hate.'

If a picture is worth a thousand words, consider the photo of the Wicked Witch of the Southwest, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer. Finger in President Obama's face, it is impossible to escape the notion that she is dressing down the nation's Chief Executive. Was this tough-on-illegal's Governor upbraiding President Obama for being lax on enforcement of immigration law? Why not? Lies are the number one ingredient in dogma food.

No she wasn't. From all accounts the first issue the President wanted to talk to her, right on the airport tarmac, was that she wasn't nice to him in her book. If true, this is the pettiest issue I've heard since Newt wasn't allowed to sit up front in AF1.

@Dennis

With these better poll numbers does this mean the number of racists are diminishing? Or could it be that it's the economy and always was the economy?

Perhaps we can get an enlightened comment from LouisJ on this.

Apologies for the double post, FR gremlins at work again, or, perhaps maybe it is providential.

Jan Brewer,

What an ugly. vicious. selfish and disrespectful woman she is. You don't EVER shake your finger at a President of the United States. I don't care what your politics are, this is discusting. I only hope the decent folks of her State vote her out as soon as possible. A recall would be even better.

Obama in 2012.

'Nothing scares me more than listening to the folks who confidently say that President Obama is a shoo-in for a second term. He is not. It is foolish to underestimate the power of ignorance and hate.'

..and to repeat my previous post "It's the economy stupid".

It's a little silly the way we credit or blame a current president for economic conditions. But I suppose it is what it is. I've always thought (like a lot of other people) that President Obama's reelection chances were tied to the state of the recovery.

So right now what is the state of the economy? That's a conversation (argument) that is continually had across multiple threads in multiple forms of media. My take is people are acting at the moment like its better than it actually is. I see growth slowing, if not a return to recession in 2012, and a corresponding new set-back in equities markets. And that's assuming nothing outside of normal expectations happens - no one in Europe other than Greece defaults, no significant reduction in oil flow through the Persian Gulf, no hard landing in China, etc.

If the Republicans had a strong candidate, I'd have to say the smart money right now wouldn't be on an Obama second term. But they don't, and it's pretty much a 50-50 bet.

One thing is certain, the economic recovery belongs to President Obama and democrats because zero republicans lifted a finger; they said NO NO NO to everything. The GOPTPers have pointed the finger of blame at President Obama, the economy is all his fault blah blah blah for three years, the spinning from them should make everyone dizzy.

Albany Joe's got nothing except to change the subject from President Obama's SOTU, the improving poll numbers, America's improving optimism, 22 straight months of private sector job growth.....so he goes off on a delustional conservative interpretation of Rev Al Sharpton.

I watched Politics Nation last night and I saw a Kansas legislator taken to the cleaners by Rev--pretty bad when the guy representing KS citizens could not answer a simple question: is it fair for a KS worker making an average of $43,000 a year to pay a higher tax rate than Mitt Romney who earns $57,000 per day? The guy's answer, it's President Obama's fault. Even after repeated attempts to get the guy to give a straight answer, he could not bring himself to stand up for the workers in KS and tell the truth: no, it is not fair that a person actually working pays a higher tax rate than a multi-millionaire. BTW, that isn't "envy", it's just the facts.

Be sure to read the discussion that follows in JoJo's link ... even the author thinks he may be wrong.

Gingerbread Mamma

Apologies for the double post

No need for any appology. Your posts are worth reading a second time

Beyond the issue of fairness does anyone think that increasing Capital Gains tax to achieve the Buffet rule will actually result in increased revenues?

The analysis that I have seen from the WSJ indicates that historically the total revenue goes down when this tax is increased and in the example of the Clinton Administration, when it was reduced receipts rose substantially.

Now I have posted that I would like to see it taxed at the same rate as earnings but does anybody have any references showing that receipts are actually increased when the tax is raised?

Very well said David.

I thought as well Lawrence O'Donnell picked up on something very important last night - the presidents who have raised our taxes. Yes folks, Republican presidents have raised our taxes. GWB did not.

And because of it, we are in a heep of trouble. You can't fight two wars and cut taxes. Too bad so many people are clueless. And liars. The blind following the blind.

Lawrence asked Pawlenty about successful businessmen who have become Presidents. Guess whose name he came up with.

Ronald Reagan.

Stick with Mitt Romney. The guy who takes and takes and takes. And hides and hides and hides.

The guy who thinks we're envious of him. Little does he see how much we the envious ones actually care about the future. Unfortunately with people like Romney wanting to hide their money, we the envious ones get to foot all the bills. And fight the wars. And pay a high rate in taxes.

Romney, we're not envious. We're reliable. And will do just about anything to help our nation move forward, except lay people off and take the money and run. It's not who we in the Democratic Party are. Neither is President Obama.

We will work 2 and 3 jobs. While your party makes fun of those who work outside in the cold, the wind, the rain, the heat. Something Romney has never done.

Maybe he's the envious one. We work for an honest day's pay. He just shifts money around, producing nothing but wealth for him and his cronies. And then hiding it.

Yes, hiding it. What the hell kind of leader is that?

President Obama doesn't seem to have a dishonest bone in his body.

WE DEMAND MORE DISCLOSURE FROM SUPER PACS, THANK YOU:

"Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) plans to introduce legislation that would require Super PACS to more fully disclose donations and stand by their ads, according to The Huffington Post.

The Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling in January 2010 gave rise to Super PACS, officially known as independent-expenditure only committees. These groups can raise an unlimited amount of money to influence federal elections, so long as they do not directly coordinate with a candidate's campaign.

The Super PACs quickly outpaced old-fashioned PACs, which can only accept annual donations of $5,000 or less and give a maximum of $5,000 per election to candidates and another $15,000 to political parties. Super PACs have also exploited a loophole that allows them to postpone the disclosure of their donors until after the elections they participate in."We need to restore accountability in our elections," Hollen said. "The American people have a right to know the source of the money that is being spent to influence the outcome of our elections. They should be told who is behind the millions of dollars in campaign ads and they should receive this information in a timely fashion."

Van Hollen's bill would require Super PACs to list their top five donors in each ad and have the top official of the group appear in the ad to take responsibility for the it.

The legislation would also require corporations to disclose their campaign expenditures to their shareholders, and require lobbyists to disclose their campaign expenditures.

Hollen sponsored similar legislation in 2010, the DISCLOSE Act, but the bill was blocked by a Republican filibuster in the Senate.

"In the absence of this enhanced disclosure, in 2010 we saw an estimated $135 million of secret money funneled into the Congressional elections," he said. "In 2011 we have seen the emergence of candidate-specific SUPER PACs spending their unlimited funding from corporations, outside groups and wealthy individuals."

One thing is certain, the economic recovery belongs to President Obama and democrats because zero republicans lifted a finger; they said NO NO NO to everything. The GOPTPers have pointed the finger of blame at President Obama, the economy is all his fault blah blah blah for three years, the spinning from them should make everyone dizzy.

Really? And what specific policies can you point to that have caused a recovery? Please don't use the stimulus as unemployment actually rose when it's spending ended and if you remember many economists were worried that we me have a double-dip recession. It was at that point that the President proposed his AJA which was never passed. So what has he done specifically since that would account for this upturn?

Perhaps all those evil corporations were not part of a massive racist conspiracy to destroy the black man in the White House. Maybe they were simply preserving capital because of the previous credit crisis and now feel confident enough to expand. Maybe the President, although dependent on the economy for his re-election, can't really influence very much and has just got lucky.

Or, God Forbid, maybe it was the extension of the Bush tax rates!!!!

JoJo ... I have no issue with that other than it will get tiresome with everyone releasing ... you must know by now that both sides play with the truth. Saying my truth is truer than your truth does not play in my park. You will not win any argument by posting only that which you bchoose to pick out and leaving the rest is some vague mist of they won't go and read anyway.

Beyond the issue of fairness does anyone think that increasing Capital Gains tax to achieve the Buffet rule will actually result in increased revenues?

It would be a lot easier to just change the AMT, which, if you listen closely to what Obama said, is the more likely path in any case.

David & Jody,

And the right-wing has the gall to say President Obama should have turned this mess around in three years?

One thing is certain, the economic recovery belongs to President Obama and democrats because zero republicans lifted a finger; they said NO NO NO to everything.

That's a nice 1-2 punch, and, Oh, so true.

Alan,

The Republicans in the House have been an anchor on the economy. Live with it.

Screeeminlib.....thank you for the kind words.....you're darn good yourself. Great to see you chime in and know there are many more such as yourself lending their voices to keep the truth out there front and center. Have a great day.

Pat,

Not only that, Romney wants to factor in the money he spends giving charity to his Church, and make a show of bumping his tax figure from 15% up to 40%.

Just apples and oranges.

Who is fooled by this stuff?

Good morning everyone!

David - Terrific insight! One just needs to look to Joe in Albany's post to find an example of whom you speak. : )

JAS1-- Somehow I think you and Jan Brewer are one and the same!

Damage -- Food stamp president would be an example of class warfare by the right.

And on Buffet's secretary, the fact that she claimed to pay a rate of 35% meant she was a 1%er. In fact I would tell her to get a new accountant because even with standard deductions she shouldn't be paying that much. Even better she is a true 1%er because if she is earning that amount of money in Omaha then she has a sweet lifestyle.

JoJo ... sorry about typos above but I am sure you get my gist ... large puppy is trying to type at the same time.

The Republicans in the House have been an anchor on the economy. Live with it.

What's your proof?

Yeah, a real turning point happened in Arizona. Obama got smacked down from Arizona Governor Jan Brewer. The thin skinned Obama couldn’t stand toe-to-toe with this woman on the tarmac down in Arizona. Obama was all upset that Brewer’s book didn’t treat him “cordially”. So rather than talk about important things in Arizona like illegal immigration, building up the states industry to create jobs, understanding the implications to Arizona because of “Fast and Furious”, Obama wanted to talk about how his feelings got hurt from what Brewer wrote in a book. Good gosh Obama, go on Oprah (is that show even on anymore?) and discuss your feelings and cry your eyes out with her. Then the President rudely walks away from Brewer in mid-sentence because he had some campaigning to do, and he just couldn’t handle a woman that so easily gets under his skin.

Actually, I believe a prolonged confrontation would have done a disservice to both President Obama and Governor Brewer. The wise individual knows when to walk away.

...but of course that won't stop Governor Brewer from being FOX News' new little darling.

Whatever.

David Walker, excellent post.

It is true, the GOP, the wealthiest 1%, Wall Street bankers, hedge fund managers, lobbyists for those groups, have successfully convinced the people making $57,000 PER YEAR to accept that someone who makes $57,000 PER DAY is entitled to pay lower taxes than the conservatives, liberals, independents who must work a year to earn that amount. They do it by telling you it is "your money" not the governments. Never mind the concept of the United States and its citizens working together as a team to keep the country strong (by paying a fair share of taxes). Never mind that the richest 400 people in America are taking "your money" every day--they take it every time a teacher is laid off or a fire fighter or police officer, everytime a street or highway or bridge is not repaired because there's no money for it, every time a hungry child goes unfed because food stamps have been eliminated, every time a library is closed or the hours reduced because there's no money. It's beyond me how people can be so foolish. Too many conservatives have been sold a junk car for 30 years and still believe it has an engine.

ideo: JoJo ... I have no issue with that other than it will get tiresome with everyone releasing ... you must know by now that both sides play with the truth. Saying my truth is truer than your truth does not play in my park. You will not win any argument by posting only that which you bchoose to pick out and leaving the rest is some vague mist of they won't go and read anyway.

Excellent prose ideo, well done!

So about Sir Warrens Secretary's tax returns. Lets see how hard she has it, you know, paying all those taxes. The hardship must be quite the burden for her. Releasing her tax returns would shed the light of truth on the situation, no?

Or should we just let the Left use her as one of their Icons of Injustice, you know, by picking out what fits the Lefts agenda and leaving the rest of the truth in some vague mist?

Joanna,

AZ Governor (R) Brewer knowingly made a nasty photo for her base, while showing herself up for the beeoche she really is..

The President has more manners and brains in his right shoe than she does.

Didn't she make the gun that hurt Gabby Giffords into the Arizona State Gun?

What an unprofessional low-life BREWER is.

so he goes off on a delustional conservative interpretation of Rev Al Sharpton.

___________________________________

Jody, go watch the video. Da Rev. was really frustrated when the Congressman refused to play his game and I was concerned that he was headed for a stroke on live TV.

It's Hillaryous!!!!!!!

JAS1 -- So what the secretary makes a decent living! She stills pays a much higher tax rate than Buffett.

Why do you and NJNB feel the need to defend the tax code/policies??? My guess is you both enjoy a very low rate and like the fact that others are paying a much higher rate.

iudeo: oJo ... sorry about typos above but I am sure you get my gist ... large puppy is trying to type at the same time.

It's a blog. tYposand graematical airs are eceptable.

And let the dog post. Can't be any worse than some of the stuff we see here. See 1.43 above for details.

Cleaning up from yesterday.

Ideo and the rest of you, if you want to quote rush Limbaugh you should try listening to his show:

So I doubt you all will see this, I did not have time to go get it earlier.

I retract my apology.

From The Rush Limbaugh Radio Show January 22, 2012

Yeah 3 days ago!

"That was a long primary. Did he win? He won! Operation Chaos, we kept it going. We were trying to have Obama exposed; we figured Hillary was the only person in the campaign with the gonads to do it. The press weren't vetting Obama. The whole point about Operation Chaos was to have the truth about Obama come out -- and to have a greater chance of that, we wanted to have the campaign go on."

• !

#2.46 - Wed Jan 25, 2012 9:31 PM EST

Which is exactly what I stated.

U.S. Durable Goods Orders Beat Expectations

Orders for U.S. durable goods rose more than forecast in December, led by demand for aircraft, autos and business equipment that signals further manufacturing gains.
Bookings (DGNOCHNG) for goods meant to last at least three years climbed 3 percent after a revised 4.3 percent gain the prior month that was more than previously estimated, data from the Commerce Department showed today. Economists projected a 2 percent increase, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey. Demand picked up for machinery, metals and communications equipment.
Gains in consumer and business spending, coupled with lean inventories, may keep driving production in coming months and spur the expansion. Sustained demand from China, Brazil and other emerging economies may also help shield U.S. factories from a slowdown in Europe stemming from its sovereign debt crisis.

bloombergnews (ht/Oama Diary}

***********

So let me get this straight.

Jane Brewer asks for a meeting with President Obama; he graciously extends the invitation.

And then she lies about what transpired in the meeting.

**********

There's a debate this evening folks. Read up on Russian history, because you know you are going to be told that President Obama is a commie.

Does President Obama go around calling them names like a freakin' school child?

No he doesn't. He's too busy working. On our behalf.

When the President and his administration are actively and blatantly trying to destroy the state of Arizona, one would not expect Brewer to kiss his ring, or anything else when he shows up there for a campaign stop. If you simple-minded people think you can read a whole story from ONE second in time captured in a photo, you are insane. But then, we common sense people already knew that.

Wall Street bankers, hedge fund managers, lobbyists for those groups, have successfully convinced the people making $57,000 PER YEAR to accept that someone who makes $57,000 PER DAY is entitled to pay lower taxes

You know it's not that I disagree with your point but I hate when dis-information is spread. They do NOT pay lower taxes, they pay at a lower tax rate. It's like the claim that certain parties are against immigration when they are against ILLEGAL immigration.

No.

Nobody else is 'trying to destroy the state of Arizona'.

Governor (R) Brewer et al. are doing that very nicely ALL BY THEMSELVES.

why on earth do people like Joe watch and comment on MSNBC if they do not like it?

___________________________________________

What makes you think I don't like MSDNC??

As I said, it's the best comedy on cable. It's even funnier than Jon Stewart and the Daily Show because he knows he is doing comedy, and the MSDNC Stooges don't have the first clue they are doing comedy.

Or should we just let the Left use her as one of their Icons of Injustice, you know, by picking out what fits the Lefts agenda and leaving the rest of the truth in some vague mist?

JoJo ... without all the facts in front of you, you are just bashing away with an ideological club, and when you do that you lose. Except of course with those who are as indoctrinated as you are. Four people believing the world is flat does not make it so. Remarkably though, they do end up living there.

AZ Governor (R) Brewer knowingly made a nasty photo for her base, while showing herself up for the beeocheshe really is..

The President has more manners and brains in his right shoe than she does.

Don't know why you guys want to prolong this one. The President, by all accounts, brought up the subject of her book on the tarmac of the airport. I can only imagine how he was festering on the flight out to Arizona. If he's worried about what Governor of Arizona wrote about him in book which no one has read it just makes him look small.

Damage123, you have just resorted to the tried and true Republican response to being called out for disrespecting the current President of the United States of America.

So, you want to compare the actions of an individual, a non-American at that, does to the President of the United States of America to what a person elected to govern a State which is part of these United States of Americaa? You do realize that there is a world of difference between the two individuals in question don't your? What an International citizen does in their own country versus what an elected governmental representative does in the United States of America is not now, never has been, nor never will be the same.

Gov. Brewer was wrong in her actions and disrespectful to the Office of the President of the United States of America. If you cannot see, or agree with that statement then you are just as guilty of demeaning the prestige of the Office of the President as Gov. Brewer.

It's not about the person in Office, it is about the Office itself. Or as they teach you in the military, you don't have to respect the person who outranks you but you do have to respect the position of rank which they occupy. RANK HAS IT'S PRIVILEGES, to include honor, decorum and respect. Too bad so many Republicans in America choose to hide behind their 1st Amendment protections instead of showing respect for the great institution of the Presidency.

What's your proof?

I suppose you'd like to argue that doing nothing is better than doing something (the less government, the better, etc.). I disagree. But there's something much more fundamental. The House of Representatives created a climate of uncertainty through continuing resolutions, through obstructing the raising of the debt limit and other measures that would have effectively shut down the government. These actions negatively impacted businesses when they were looking for the kind of stability that would have enabled them to hire more workers and increase productivity. The House could have entered into serious negotiations with the President, but they didn't. Their entire agenda was an effort to make him look back and to negatively affect his chances for re-election.

DCIA: JAS1 -- So what the secretary makes a decent living! She stills pays a much higher rate of taxes than Buffett

And she'll pay a lot more if Obama gets his way. When Obama was talking about the rich not paying their fair share, he was talking to her.

aintso: It's not about the person in Office, it is about the Office itself. Or as they teach you in the military, you don't have to respect the person who outranks you but you do have to respect the position of rank which they occupy. RANK HAS IT'S PRIVILEGES, to include honor, decorum and respect.

This isn't the military, Brewer doesn't work for Obama, and Obama picked the fight.

Too bad so many Republicans in America choose to hide behind their 1st Amendment protections instead of showing respect for the great institution of the Presidency.

Funny stuff. Respect is earned, Obama hasn't.

Gingerbread Mamma

David ....... great post and this paragraph needs to be posted every single day and become our mantra.

'Nothing scares me more than listening to the folks who confidently say that President Obama is a shoo-in for a second term. He is not. It is foolish to underestimate the power of ignorance and hate.'

I completely agree on both counts.

Maybe this whole Mitt/Newt Show is meant to be nothing more than a distraction. Will the Republicans send in a White Knight to their convention in August? Surely they can't believe either one of these buffoons can defeat Obama.

The latest CBS News Poll results: 91% of Americans approve of the proposals President Obama made in his State of the Union Address.

Very well done, great post David.

The logic of the AZ crowd is:

Put up or shut up....DO NOT PASS GO or go straight to Jail.

When the President and his administration are actively and blatantly trying to destroy the state of Arizona, one would not expect Brewer to kiss his ring, or anything else when he shows up there for a campaign stop.

The Obama Administration is "actively and blatantly trying to destroy the state of Arizona"?

Oh, please, do tell, how?

Wait, let me blanket and teddy bear. They always make listening to fairy tales so much more enjoyable.

Question: if our economic future is so bright, then why did the Federal Reserve announce yesterday it will be keeping short term interest rates near zero into 2014?

Answer: because in their assessment, the future isn't so bright that the economic light can shine in the absence of extending its historically unprecedented easy money policy.

For those keeping score, this amounts to a six year campaign by the Fed to encourage folks to spend money and invest their savings in risky assets. Even with all that, the Fed is forecasting unemployment will drop to no lower than 8.2% this year, 7.4% next year, and 6.7% in 2014.

So while the left celebrates such numbers as indicative of a trend going in the right direction, those of us with a brain are appalled by the blithe acceptance of a new economic reality that cheers results which are so dismal in comparison to recoveries from previous economic downturns. And therein lies the Achilles heel in the argument of an administration that is asking to stay in power for four more years.

By any objective standard, we are experiencing the worst recovery from an economic downturn in our lifetimes. Indeed, some folks reading this post may be dead before the economy returns to full health. So why should any of us reward a president who has presided over such a mediocre economic performance? That is the central question of the 2012 campaign, and the Obama people know it -- which is why they are trying mightily to divert our attention from the harsh truth of the slow motion economic disaster which continues to unfold.

But at the end of the day, it's still the economy, stupid. And no amount of diversionary eloquence can turn this lemon into lemonade.

Take your pick on this one: 1. blind, 2. stupid, 3. stark-staring mad.

The following is the post of Damage123 in response to my point about President Obama: "Never once has he called for class warfare. Never once has he stoked envy."

I swear I am not making this up. These are his exact words in his post at 1.22:

Really, David? Are you saying that Obama never said......

"I've said to Republican leaders, 'You go talk to your constituents and ask them, "Are you willing to compromise your kids' safety so some corporate-jet owner can get a tax break?" ' ''????????

There's a snapshot of the kind of mind that equates the safety of children and paying for it with class warfare. Let me phrase that another way. Taking tax breaks away from corporate jet-owners at the expense of children's safety is class warfare in the minds of the Damage123's of this nation.

For all those people who think their vote doesn't count, who think that President Obama has let them down.......Remember the Damage123's go to the polls. They vote. They have no grasp of reality and have no grasp of the most basic facts, but they vote.

Voting Republican is actively committing suicide. Staying away from the polls is passively committing suicide.

Damage123

When Obama loses in November, it will mean that we are a nation of vicious Klan members...Amerikkka, if you will.

And all you people whining about the picture of Obama with Jan Brewer should SHUT THE HELL UP IMMEDIATELY if you were one of the people who laughed and cheered when that crazed Iraqi threw his shoes at Bush a few years ago. Or cheered and nodded your heads in agreement when your hero, Hugo Chavez ridiculed Bush from the podium at the UN.

For you people, "respect" for the president only means respect for a president that YOU like. Get over it.

You should be the one to S-T-F-U; if anybody. The witches brew that mummified governor is not just disrespectful to President; but the Office of the President as well. Do you people in billybob land have any decorum?

FYI: Jan Brewer is in the KKK and so are her Nazi cronies.

ALEC EXPOSED

The facts show that it currently has one Democrat out of 104 legislators in leadership positions.

ALEC alumni include: Speaker of the House John Boehner, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, Congressman Joe Wilson, (who called President Obama a “liar” during the State of the Union address), former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, former House Speaker Tom DeLay, Andrew Card, Donald Rumsfeld (1985 Chair of ALEC’s Business Policy Board), Governor Scott Walker, [GOVENOR JAN BREWER], and more. Featured speakers have included: Milton Friedman, [NEWT GINGRICH], Dick Cheney, Dan Quayle, George Allen, Jessie Helms, Pete Coors, Governor Mitch Daniels and more.

ALEC’s operating model raises many ethical and legal concerns.

http://alecexposed.org/wiki/What_is_ALEC%3F

Who funds ALEC?

More than 98% of ALEC's revenues come from sources other than legislative dues, such as corporations, corporate trade groups, and corporate foundations. the Koch family Charles G. Koch Foundation, the Koch-managed Claude R. Lambe Foundation, the Scaife family Allegheny Foundation, the Coors family Castle Rock Foundation, to name a few. Less than 2% of ALEC’s funding comes from “Membership Dues” of $50 per year paid by state legislators, a steeply discounted price that may run afoul of state gift bans.

Just for your knowledge banK, the KOCHS are John Birch members!!!!!

John Birch Society Celebrates Koch Family For Their Role In Founding The Hate Group

http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/06/10/242334/john-birch-society-celebrates-koch/

Oh, and about President Obama losing, he is not!!! Like Wesley Snipes in " Passenger 57" said bet on black.

Regarding Governor Jan Brewer, she met President Obama with a letter in hand requesting another meeting. Hardly an appropriate time. Brewer staged that moment to look good for her supporters, too look tough for the rabid anti-Obama crowd. President Obama asked her why she wrote something completely different in her book regarding their earlier meeting than she had said at the time. Seems to me that's a legitimate question since Brewer was waving another letter demanding a second meeting.

The details behind that photo are less important that the visual Brewer provided showing who she really is--another finger-wagging, disrespectful "you lie"moment. Her statement to explain away such flagrant disrespect was pathetic. As a governor, Brewer should reflect leadership and respectfulness--that photo clearly reveals that Brewer is neither a leader nor a person deserving of the respect that comes with her position.

@Jack

I would agree with some of your points but not continuing resolutions. Until the Senate actually votes on a budget that is their baby.

On the debt limit. You know from my posts here that I am fiscally responsible (not conservative). I'll agree to social programs that are properly funded and have been explained to the public what they will cost. Now I don't agree with the tactics used over the debt limit but when the Majority Leader of the Senate cannot cut the Federal funding for a poetry competition at a time of 1.3T deficits then I do not know how you get his attention in a reasonable way. What I did like about that debacle is that it blew out the fantasy that there were trust funds for SS and Medicare.

However, and I admit I do not know what the environmental consequences would be of the Republican bills they have sent to the Senate, but I do know that they would have removed regulation and that would have helped job growth albeit with consequences. So you cannot argue that they did nothing. They passed a number of bills that you disagree with, and for all I know I may disagree with some of them. What I would like to know is why the Senate did not take these bills up, amend them, pass their version and they go through the normal reconciliation process.

SayitaintSo-628660 - Too bad so many Republicans in America choose to hide behind their 1st Amendment protections instead of showing respect for the great institution of the Presidency.

I respect the office of the President...it the idiot holding that office I don't respect.

David, I see these people in the same light as you. They are incredibly incredibly stupid. And liars. Nonstop liars.

Who would have ever thought they would stoop to the level they have stooped to. They don't care about America or its workers. They haven't cared for many many years.

Beverly ....the following is sponsored by 'Fly Newt to Mars'.

Further to your info on ALEC:

"Our new report outlines the disturbing level of influence exerted by corporate lobbyists in Virginia. The American Legislative Exchange Council, a secretive organization funded by big corporations, has been writing bills that Virginia legislators are passing off as their own work on everything from education to health care to voting rights
Simply put, a secretive corporate front group is writing Virginia's laws. Even worse, Virginia taxpayers have shelled out over $230,000 for the privilege of our representatives having exclusive access to corporate lobbyists behind closed doors.

Our legislators were elected to represent Virginia families, not corporate bottom lines. Legislators who kowtow to a corporate agenda are nothing new in Virginia, but secretly copying and pasting legislation from corporate lobbyists is a step too far. This is an egregious violation of the public trust. If our representatives are so desperate for legislative ideas, they should consult the people they were elected to represent. We'll even give them the advice for free."
http://www.progressva.org/alec/legislators.html

David,

Remember the Damage123's go to the polls. They vote. They have no grasp of reality and have no grasp of the most basic facts, but they vote.

Thanks for the scary reminder. I would also add that the Damage 123's vote on emotions; not reason, or logic. Typically they are one-issue, one-dimensional individuals who lack empathy and who are easily manipulated by the Rush Limbaughs of the world.

Alan,

What I would like to know is why the Senate did not take these bills up, amend them, pass their version and they go through the normal reconciliation process.

I'm glad to see we can agree on some things. In answer to your question, the Republicans intended to fillibuster, regardless of what Reid did. Personally, I think the fillibuster should be thrown in the dustbin and never heard from again. It is anti-democratic to have a system where one Senator, all by himself or herself, can stop a piece of legislation from coming to a vote.

The House of Representatives created a climate of uncertainty

________________________________________

C'mon Jack, many FR lefty liberals have posted many times on FR that the "uncertainty" argument is a totally bogus argument for why businesses aren't hiring new employees and getting the economy going. They, and you, all know businesses are not hiring because the are trying to destroy Barry. Now you are making the "uncertainty" argument and blaming the Republican's??

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Once again, Obama parades his contempt for women- and his cultists applaud him for it. He lambasted a female governor because he did not like the way she portrayed him in her book. Then he walked away from her while she was still speaking.

Nice manners there, Obama. I should not be surprised by the behavior, after the way Hillary Clinton was treated during 2008- who can forget the childish, petty, demeaning incident where he slyly gave her the finger during a campaign stop?

Of course, that was nothing compared to his lying about his own dying mother. Heck, he did not even bother going to SEE his own dying mother, so what can you expect?

Oh, we'll, back to Davos. The AP is hosting a panel discussion on whether democratic institutions that worked in the 20th century work in the 21st.

Seems most of the panelists think not.

Talk about depressing.

Jack, outstanding post as usual. Unfortunately, people in the Republican Party don't care that their reps refused to help the economy.

Have you seen what's going on in Europe?

Thank goodness for President Obama. We would be a third world country right now if it wasn't for him. And to think, he got no help from the other party. None whatsoever. And their supporters won't hold them accountable.

Hey, Obama started the fight, Brewer finished it.

Way to "Fight Like A Girl" Jan!

Jan Brewer "The last time I had a pap smear, they had to use leatha gloves and an oysta shukka."

Or was that someone else who said that?.....

I see NoJo has arrived ... the 4th horse(wo)man of the Apocalypse ... should start to get pretty flat around here.

Joe, I don't need to watch the video--I saw the show. It is not a game to expect an answer to a question asked. You'd be throwing a giant HAHAHAHA hissy fit if a democrat had pulled that nonanswer stunt. The KS guy refused to answer a simple "yes or no" question and instead deflected to the standard GOP nonsense that it's President Obama's fault, and talking about more jobs--that wasn't the question and YOU KNOW IT. Moving on.

In answer to your question, the Republicans intended to fillibuster,

That makes no sense. Why would they filibuster their own bills? Better to get the Democrats change them or the President veto them.

...Mitt Romney. The guy who takes and takes and takes. And hides and hides and hides.

The guy who thinks we're envious of him. Little does he see how much we the envious ones actually care about the future. Unfortunately with people like Romney wanting to hide their money, we the envious ones get to foot all the bills. And fight the wars. And pay a high rate in taxes.

Romney, we're not envious. We're reliable. And will do just about anything to help our nation move forward, except lay people off and take the money and run. It's not who we in the Democratic Party are. Neither is President Obama.

We will work 2 and 3 jobs. While your party makes fun of those who work outside in the cold, the wind, the rain, the heat. Something Romney has never done.

Pat Boston MA, you're right. We middle class Americans don't envy Romney for his wealth. Heck, he can have and keep all the headaches that come with maintaining all those homes and holding on to his millions. From my experience, people like Romney who are all about making money give up a lot of the best things in life to pursue the almighty dollar.

There are only 24 hours in a day. Rich people can't buy time. They have to spend all their time making money.

Don't tell me Romney has spent the amount and quality of time with his family, especially his kids, that a less financially- focused man could or would have. In his life, his work and his money have come first.

That's his choice. And I do not envy him.

Stepping into the First Read room this morning, I had to wipe my keyboard, monitor, hands and face of all the dripping ooze from the liberals. Boy, are you guys gullible. As I passed through, to my barely occupied conservative corner, I noticed several liberals dancing, and chanting Obama, Obama, Obama. Not that this was surprising to me but why were they doing it in their bare feet? Seemed a little strange to me.

I guess the liberals give 100% of the praise for Obama, even though not one liberal can name a single thing he did to improve this situation. Yesterday a couple tried to attribute the good news to Obama's stimulus (from 2 1/2 years ago) and the fact that Obama bailed out GM, Chrysler and GE... all union strongholds favorable to the president anyway. What over the course of the last 6 months has Obama done different to miraculously change the course of mighty rivers? Maybe it was the Christmas vacation.... I dunno, that seems to be the only event that stands out in my mind that was of any significance. Hey, if going on vacation improves the economic conditions, I'm all for it!!! He can go on vacation until the end of his term... That will make liberals happy because he'll be getting all the well deserved rest he needs, for doing.... doing.... doing... I know.. making speeches.

Obviously the liberals are going to chide me for coming down on Obama, once again. Is that anything new? Nope.. neither me coming down on him is new, and liberals chiding me isn't new either.

Now I am going to ask the question again... let's see if any takers out there have a solid explanation: What has Obama done to change the economic conditions? Be specific and be recent.

A crazy vicious Biotch...... and here I thought Ms Pelosi had that title locked. Im wondering if she might have had a spin with the newtster and thought better of announcing her kink side.

Voting Republican is actively committing suicide. Staying away from the polls is passively committing suicide.

OBAMA/BIDEN 2012 BRAINS AND BALLOTS

Saving America one vote at a time.

You really want to go there with me Damage123?

No where in my comments to you did I condone anything that was done to George W. Bush. My point was, and still is, that we as Americans have no control over what any International citizen does when it comes to the respect for our President. What we DO HAVE CONTROL OVER is our own actions as citizens of these United States. You can push that partisan B.S. all you want, but that Dog Won't Hunt With Me.

As a veteran of the military I personally have deep respect for the Office of the Presidency, regardless of who occupies it. So, take that B.S. you're peddling somewhere else. I'm not buying it!

With regards to the "pig" comment, you and I both know that the comment was in reference to an old saying regarding putting "Lipstick on a Pig". The same MEDIA that you so want to say is in the tank for the President created the S#$tstorm that followed that comment by inferring that the comment was directed at Gov. Palin. Those are the facts and if you are being truthful you will agree.

One last thing, if you so hate this President and what he has done/stands for/etc. then why do you use his picture as an avatar? See, this is the kind of twisted love/hate relationship that proves the point that your opposition is not based upon rational thinking, but upon irrational hate.

Don't bother attempting to defend your illogical position. It is more that obvious to me and others that your hate stems from a personal dislike of the man Barrack H. Obama, and not his policies. I'll simply chalk you up as one of those 10% you disagreed with the policies our President put forth in the SOTU Tuesday night.

Have a nice DAY!

Okay, can we get our story straight on what happened in Arizona?

Smiffy says:

Obama got smacked down from Arizona Governor Jan Brewer. The thin skinned Obama couldn’t stand toe-to-toe with this woman on the tarmac down in Arizona. Obama was all upset that Brewer’s book didn’t treat him “cordially”. So rather than talk about important things in Arizona like illegal immigration, building up the states industry to create jobs, understanding the implications to Arizona because of “Fast and Furious”, Obama wanted to talk about how his feelings got hurt from what Brewer wrote in a book. Good gosh Obama, go on Oprah (is that show even on anymore?) and discuss your feelings and cry your eyes out with her. Then the President rudely walks away from Brewer in mid-sentence because he had some campaigning to do, and he just couldn’t handle a woman that so easily gets under his skin.

...but "No Joe" says:

Once again, Obama parades his contempt for women- and his cultists applaud him for it. He lambasted a female governor because he did not like the way she portrayed him in her book. Then he walked away from her while she was still speaking.

Maybe the two of you should have a little conference and figure out what happened so you come up with a single story because it sure as hell can't be both!

David Skywalker-- You're exactly the kind of emotional dupe the president counts on. He plays on your emotions, fears, resentments and jealousies with his cute little phrases to make you support his left-wing agenda. Is bashing some CEO or taking away part of his salary really going to make the "kids" safer? Could you or HE even explain how this comes about?

It's like when the head of the teachers union told John Stossel that Republicans are in favor of vouchers because "they don't care about the children." She said that. With a straight face. Could it possibly be that the Republicans think vouchers are a better way to improve our failing schools? Nahhhh. Can't be. That wouldn't play on people's emotions, would it?

Please tell me how John Doe, CEO of Widgets Inc., flying in his jet with his BIG salary, will prevent little Bobby or little Susie from falling off their bicycle.

A tweet over @ Obama Diary:

1000s in line by 8 a.m. this morning (in January!) for tickets to see President Obama (Ann Arbor)

Bill in Fairfax-- Could it be the Fed was wrong to extend this policy to 2014? Your words describing the Great Recession as a mere "economic downturn" is the understatement of the year. You are disingenuous to use the word objective in that sentence. Because we have never experienced a recession of this magnitude before how is one to judge what the recovery will look like? My guess Bill is things were much worse than advertised.

Sayitisn'tso - Indeed it is a personal thing with these jerks. The future of the country isn't something they're concerned about. Obviously.

I'd love to hear some news stories behind the real reason Obama said no to the oil pipeline. Oh, could it be the fact that hes got his hand in Warren Buffetts pocket?

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/01/25/bloomberg_articlesLY20WE6K50Z001-LYDM5.DTL

Jan. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Warren Buffett's Burlington Northern Santa Fe LLC is among U.S. and Canadian railroads that stand to benefit from the Obama administration's decision to reject TransCanada Corp.'s Keystone XL oil pipeline permit.

With modest expansion, railroads can handle all new oil produced in western Canada through 2030, according to an analysis of the Keystone proposal by the U.S. State Department.

Yeah, sounds like he really gives two @!$%#s about making more jobs, as long as they dont conflict with his friends giving him more money...

Obummer '12 Let's just vote for more crony capitalism than you can shake a stick at...

Joe In Albany,

many FR lefty liberals have posted many times on FR that the "uncertainty" argument is a totally bogus argument

It's the right wing that marches in lock-step, not the left. The joke is on you (as always).

Pat Boston,

Thanks--I've been enjoying your posts as well.

Alan,

How could the President veto them if they can't get passed in the first place? But I think the real question is: Why do you support keeping the fillibuster?

Damage123

Ok "sayitaintso". How about when a senator from Illinois called the governor of Alaska a "pig" back in 2008?

This is mis-information, and you know it. This is the source of that comment:

"That’s not change," Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., said of what Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is offering, laying out how McCain and President George W. Bush agree — in Obama’s view — on economic policy, foreign policy, health care policy, etc., etc.

"You know, you can put lipstick on a pig," Obama said, "but it’s still a pig."

The crowd rose and applauded, some of them later telling reporters that they thought Obama had been alluding to Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s ad lib during her vice presidential nomination acceptance speech last week, "What’s the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? Lipstick."

"You can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called ‘change,’" Obama continued, "it’s still gonna stink after eight years.

"We’ve had enough of the same old thing! It’s time to bring about real change to Washington. And that’s the choice you’ve got in this election." http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2008/09/obama-says-mc-1/

Was then-Senator Obama referring to Palin as a pig? No, he was not. Those who choose to spin it that way are the ones calling her a pig.

I'd love to hear some news stories behind the real reason Obama said no to the oil pipeline. Oh, could it be the fact that hes got his hand in Warren Buffetts pocket?

That's right...just keep on forgetting the opposition of the people and Governor of the state of Nebraska.

I don't speak for JS1, Noid, and she does not speak for me.

Know who said, speaking about the Obama White House,

"This place would be in Court for a hostile workplace, (if it were private sector), because it actually fit all of the classic legal requirements for a genuinely hostile workplace to women"

Anita Dunn- quoted in Ron Suskind's book, Confidence Men.

Ms. Dunn tried to deny the statement- Suskind had the tapes.

I never understood how women could vote for someone who showed such utter disrespect during the last campaign. I do not understand the number of females in his cult- unless they have such poor self esteem that they believe they deserve to be treated with contempt.

Then again, I don't understand idol worship. Perhaps you can explain it.

The next regulation up is that everyone will be required to learn web skills and post their Tax returns for the past 10 years online. You First! An interesting fact , I was asked by the state of Michigan a few years back to provide my tax returns for a specific few years (less than 10) for purposes of determining if I was a Michigan resident. I wasn't I lived in New Hampshire and Texas (no state income tax) Turns out that one of the hurricanes down south destroyed a huge warehouse where actual touchable returns were stored. So all I could get was a print out of address's and amounts.

Beverly, I don't recall granting you permission to address me

Beverly,

Do you get the feeling that Damage is saying that because you're a woman and you're black that you shouldn't speak unless he addresses you first, and even then you must address him as "Sir"? That one post confirms everything I have believed about him. He hates women, and he hates blacks.

Beverly,

did i mention your posts are GENIUS.

And there is a fly buzzing around here somewhere.....heard it?

Romney is a northeast elitist. A Massachusetts elitist.

Who hides his money.

hiya kids, hiya.....froggy is depressed..and he doesn't feel too well.

Just when you thought it couldn't possibly get any more hateful or devisive the wicked witch of the west flies in on her broom and gets in the President's face. Suh-weet Jeezus in heaven!

Would someone please drop a house on her! Just kidding, just kidding, just continuing the OZ metaphor. I don't wish the woman harm. I'm just saying if you have a spare house...ya know what I mean?

I can still remember a time when a visiting President was greeted cordially by the Governor and members of the State Legislature. Being in the presence of Air Force One, the flying White House is awe-inspiring. Twice when Reagan was President and I was a young reporter, he came to Oklahoma and landed at Tinker Air Force base. I got Secret Service clearance and was among the few local press allowed to interview the President on the tarmac at Tinker. I am not a fan of Ronald Reagan. I didn't like him when he was President of the Screen Actors' Guild. I didn't like him when he was Governor of California, I didn't even like him in those Bonzo movies. I sure didn't like him as President of the United States. But standing next to Air Force One, surrounded by the President's security, with the high-ranking Generals from Tinker you are over-whelmed with the greatness of the office, if not the man. We were respectful. We were honored to be among the chosen few who got to come this close to a President of the United States.

Who the HELL does Jan Brewer think she is, arguing with the President of the United States in front of God and the Media? If she's got a bone to pick it should be done privately to preserve the dignity of the President if not her own. HELL YES he walked away, I'd walk away and so would you if she didn't have the good manners or sense to be more respectful of the office if not the man, in a public setting.

What in the HELL is this country coming to?

But I guess it is foolish of me to expect anything more. Just look at the discourse on this blog every day. Jan Brewer is just an extension of the vitriol poured daily by FOX, Limbaugh AND THE POSTERS ON THIS THREAD. C'mon people, show a little respect and humanity. We're all Americans.

plunk your magic twanger.....froggy doesn't feel so good. I think I'll go home sick.

OBama/Biden 2012

joe in albany for as much time you spend here you must be a closet socialist. Your just slinging right wing crap to impress your one friend who is on the right.

The Think Progress:

ThinkProgress report revealed that Romney and his wife Ann own millions in Goldman Sachs Strategic Income Fund. That fund holds mortgage backed securities from many of the nation’s most prominent subprime lenders, including Countrywide and Washington Mutual. In 2010, the fund was connected to more than 5,000 foreclosure actions in Miami-Dade county alone.

In October, Romney said that the United States should not “try and stop the foreclosure process. Let it run its course and hit the bottom,” a proposition that may have benefited his bottom line.

Noid: That's right...just keep on forgetting the opposition of the people and Governor of the state of Nebraska.

Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman said he will urge President Barack Obama to reverse his decision denying a permit for TransCanada Corp.’s Keystone XL pipeline and let construction begin in segments in U.S. border states.

Source: http://business.financialpost.com/2012/01/26/nebraska-governor-wants-obama-to-proceed-with-keystone/?__lsa=7663b6e1

skip: Who the HELL does Jan Brewer think she is,

Yeah, she needs to know her place, being a woman and all. She should have been groveling at Obama's feet, just like you do.

How could the President veto them if they can't get passed in the first place? But I think the real question is: Why do you support keeping the fillibuster?

I said that it made no sense for the Republicans to filibuster their own bills. These bills are being bottled up by Harry Reid. No again, I can't say that I support these bills but they exist and it is the Senate, led by the Democrats, that are stopping these bills.

On the filibuster, I liked it when the Democrats used it to stop Bush appointees and legislation, so although the republicans have abused it I do support keeping the filibuster. Maybe a change of rules to 55 may be in order, or the Democrats could use reconciliation as often as the republicans under Bush.

Brianb.

I guess the liberals give 100% of the praise for Obama, even though not one liberal can name a single thing he did to improve this situation. Yesterday a couple tried to attribute the good news to Obama's stimulus (from 2 1/2 years ago) and the fact that Obama bailed out GM, Chrysler and GE...

LOL!!! You can't even get your B.S. straight.

First, you say no one could name a single thing Obama did to improve the situation. Then, you go on to point out the things people named that Obama did to improve the situation. Of course, true to your delusion, you proceded to deny and rationalize away reality, ignoring the independent analysis that shows both the stimulus and the auto bailout helped the economy.

Obviously people are chiding you for being a blind partisan hack. If you came down on Obama with legitimate criticism, and not the over parroted crap you were fed, you may have an agument.

And why are you going to keep asking the same question that you previously ignored legitimate answers to?

Oh, that's how you continue to preserve your delusional reality. Ignore everything that contridicts it.

Dumb, dee, dee, dumb, dumb, dumb....

OBAMA/BIDEN 2012 BRAINS AND BALLOTS

Saving America one vote at a time.

Kaybee, I have to admit I was getting concerned that this country was losing it's dreamers. You are living proof my concerns were all for naught. Thank you for restoring my hope.

Skip,

Jan Brewer is a class-less act.

Alan,

Interesting points about the fillibuster. As far as Harry Reid bottling up bills, we both know why he wouldn't bring them to the floor. The real problem is that the House wasn't willing to bring forth a jobs bill that was capable of being negotiated by both parties.

Pat, Boston-- You still need to convince me that you are NOT a plant here sent by Limbaugh to parody mindless liberals. Seriously, you're like a SNL skit on lefty, bleeding heart feel-goodism. That's probably why you have Cab Calloway in your avatar.

JS1 from your link:

“Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman said he will urge President Barack Obama to reverse his decision denying a permit for TransCanada Corp.’s Keystone XL pipeline and let construction begin in segments in U.S. border states.”

But NOT his State !!

Okay Prohibition, I'll play along with you on this one. What, in your opinion, actions has this current President done that are a violation of the Constitution? Now, before you answer lets make sure we are all playing by the same rules. If you choose to state any actions that the current President has taken that are equal to the actions that previous Presidents have taken, I'm sorry but your oppositional point would qualify is hypocrisy unless you are also condemning that equivalent action by the previous President. Understand, that is the criteria that I am using to judge the credibility of your claim.

So go ahead and explain to me and the others on this board those, in your own words "...actions of that piece of filth that wipes his ass with the most sacred document since our country's existence?" has done which violates the Constitution?

Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman said he will urge President Barack Obama to reverse his decision denying a permit for TransCanada Corp.’s Keystone XL pipeline and let construction begin in segments in U.S. border states.

Source:

Smiffy,

Has the state of Nebraska completed and reviewed the environmental impact studies that it now requires by the laws passed in special session in November on the new route proposed by TransCanada?

Has the environmental impact study been completed on the new route proposed by TransCanada as required by Executive Order 13337?

Yet, the GOP demanded a decision in 60 days when they tacked it onto the payroll tax cut extension. Well, President Obama has to follow the law, now, doesn't he?

Gov. Brewer was wrong in her actions and disrespectful to the Office of the President of the United States of America.

You've got that right! She was pandering to her base pure and simple.

If you cannot see, or agree with that statement then you are just as guilty of demeaning the prestige of the Office of the President as Gov. Brewer.

The RWNJs on this site do this exact same thing everyday. They couldn't carry the President's breifcase and would have wilted under the pressure he endures daily and he does it with a smile on his face.

Obama/Biden 2012

It is not a game to expect an answer to a question asked.

_______________________________________

Jody, it IS a game when the question is based on a false premise like da Rev. Al's question. For example, do you think YOU owe me an answer to the following question posed for satirical purposes only:

Do you believe Barry's long form Hawaii birth certificate is a CIA faked document?

Yes or no??

Then again, I don't understand idol worship. Perhaps you can explain it.

I think you do understand idol worship (Limbaugh...O'Reilly).

Perhaps you can explain delusion to those of us who can't understand that?

Thanks.

Pat... The United States should not "try and stop the foreclosure process".

"Let it run its course and hit the bottom". Romney said that.

Isn't that what Romney said about the Auto Industry?'

Auto is now the giant success story, with GM Number One in the world.

Thousands of jobs and related industries were saved by President Obama.

brianb is just making a point to be absurd. He thinks its a art. Thats his way to get his rocks off by trying to get under peoples skin.

That's probably why you have Cab Calloway in your avatar.

Your moniker and your avatar say everything one needs to know about you, Damage.

NJNBNJ: Once again, Obama parades his contempt for women- and his cultists applaud him for it. He lambasted a female governor because he did not like the way she portrayed him in her book. Then he walked away from her while she was still speaking.

Wow, NJ, how many times and ways are you going to twist this?

First, NONE of us knows what was actually said on the tarmac.

Second, it was Brewer who approached Obama, initiating the encounter. She handed him an envelope. He spoke to her. She pointed her finger in his face. He walked away.

He IS the President. Whether or not you respect the man, you respect the office. I did the same with Bush. As the President, it is not always wise for him to stand in the open (particularly in Arizona!). So he walked away from the encounter and to his car.

You will doubtless continue your mock outrage. You are entitled to that, as I am entitled to my opinion. But, seriously, if we must discuss, we have far more important issues to discuss!

Dennis: But NOT his State !!

What Gov. Heineman is afraid othat Canada will just give up on the US and build a pipeline to their west coast and ship the oil to Asia. What he's trying to do is get the work going here in the US so when Obama gets past the election he can give the finger to the Greens and let this project finally get going.

Dennis, this project was a no brainer to approve. For a man that says he's concerned about jobs and mid-east oil independence, Obama certainly doesn't act that way.

The NBC report talks of six months of "semi-positive economic news". Just exactly WTF is semi-positive economic news? I mean, the figures either went up or they went down. Semi-positive, indeed! Do the media toadies, whoring for the inept Obama, think we are such idiots that we'll swallow such crap?!

Brian: how long a list of Obama accomplishments would you like (not that any of it would make it past your Limbaugh preconceived notions.) Let's start with the end of the worst military action in recent American history (that'd be old GW's absurd, ill-timed and poorlyl conceived invasion of Iraq), followed by the winding down of the Afghanistan war. (ok, now you go ahead and argue those wars, already the longest and most unpopular in American history, need to be continued and then we need a new one in Iran...isn't that the latest mantra of the knee jerk right?) I'd add the pulling back from the brink where we were headed under Bush of financial ruin, but you'll just whine about not being all the way there yet.

JoAnna: and I'll just bet you actually BELIEVE the 20,000 jobs b.s. by the petroleum industry don't you. More likely 2,000 jobs and those would be temporary. Talk to the states fighting the pipeline in court about your "no brainer".

Republicant said: First, you say no one could name a single thing Obama did to improve the situation. Then, you go on to point out the things people named that Obama did to improve the situation.

I stand by my statement. Obama admitted there were no shovel ready jobs... so that cancels that out. Bailouts for GM, Chrysler and GE were all part of TARP which was originated by Bush. Liberals know this. They have used this against conservatives for years.

ignoring the independent analysis that shows both the stimulus and the auto bailout helped the economy.

But neither thing is backed up by Obama but you liberals still give him the credit for it. He accepts the credit for it and he dwells on your praise. How stupid is that? And you call me a hack. Your credibility just got flushed down the toilet.

Everything I post about Obama is legitimate. I can't help it if you are so blind you can't even find your way to the bathroom. You really need to stop soiling on yourself... you make the room stink.

TransCanada acknowledged on CNN that Keystone would create very few permanent jobs in the United States.

IT IS NOT A DONE DEAL, although Big OiL/KOCH & friends will tell you it is - as they are already counting the $Billions.

Tar sands is the biggest, dirtiest polluter and extraction process of all time.

The oil will bypass the United States (SEE BIG PIPE) and be exported to the highest bidder >>>>>>

Brianb-999431

OBAMA/BIDEN 2012 BRAINS AND BALLOTS

Saving America one vote at a time.

Kaybee, I have to admit I was getting concerned that this country was losing it's dreamers. You are living proof my concerns were all for naught. Thank you for restoring my hope.

"You gotta have a dream if you don't have a dream, how you gonna have a dream come true?

I will NEVER apologize for hope. I'm no quitter. I never give up.

Have a nice day.

Ah, fielder.

I actually wrote this a while ago, when another poster kept trying to interject a discussion of poets into the topic of debt

Please let's change the subject,
From economy and debt
There are so many more pleasant topics
We haven't covered yet.

Why speak of war and taxes
Or debt that's blown sky high?
These things all hurt Obama
His reelection might be denied!

Let's ignore his failures,
His Dollars to Donors plan.
Let's please change the subject
And just ignore the man.

So, we should not be discussing Obama's chauvinism? Well, too bad.

Perhaps if he were not so wont to display it. . .

joe in albany for as much time you spend here you must be a closet socialist

_________________________________________

Sorry, Sh!tty, I'm just here for the laughs and you lefty liberals are Hillaryous.

Pat, Boston---- LOL!!!!!!!! See what I mean? You're just thrilled and ALL warm and fuzzy inside because "1,000s" of people have lined up to see Obama in Ann Arbor today. Never occurred to you that something is WRONG with thousands of able-bodied people lining up on a WEEKDAY IN THE MORNING to see their hero??????

And regarding Obama's disgusting "lipstick on a pig" attack on Palin in 2008...

Just days before, Palin had made her fantastic speech at the Repub convewntion where she said that the only difference "between a pitbull and a hockey mom" was "lipstick." She was referring to herself. When Obama made the "pig" remark, if HE wasn't directing that at Palin, his groupies who were present sure thought he did. Watch the film and look at their faces. They went from "ohhh noo he didn't" to "YAAAAAAAEEEHHHH!!!". Then he, of corse acted all innocent about it. What a Jug-Eared Socialist Fraud.

Kaybeetoys favorite movie is, no doubt, Peter Pan.

"I do believe in fairies. . .i do believe in fairies. . ."

Governor Brewer wears lipstick?

Anyone?

Your words describing the Great Recession as a mere "economic downturn" is the understatement of the year. You are disingenuous to use the word objective in that sentence. Because we have never experienced a recession of this magnitude before how is one to judge what the recovery will look like?

Sorry dear, that dog won't hunt. Historical precedent DOES give us insight into what the magnitude of this recovery should look like, because our historical experience has been the deeper the downturn, the stronger the recovery. And by rights, we should be in the second year of a BOOMING recovery by now:

"The experience of the American economy is reported in full at the National Bureau of Economic Research – recessions since the Great Depression previously have lasted an average of 10 months, with the longest previously 16 months, and the deeper the recession the stronger the recovery."

It's only the disingenuous left that ignores this reality.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/peterferrara/2012/01/12/the-worst-economic-recovery-since-the-great-depression/

AP - I don't need a list of his accomplishments. I already have one of those. What I'd like to know is if any liberal out there singing Obama's praises can identify anything Obama has done to turn the economy around. It's a simple question. We don't need to rehash what Bush did in the question because that's NOT the question. I see how easily you try to divert the answer. The only answer you have is to bash Bush... Newsflash - Bush is no longer president and can't ever be again. I just wanted to make you aware of that fact... you seem to be slightly confused.

Oh, White Collar fellah,

I did read your comment this morning, and I understand your point. I understood it yesterday.

Rush Limbaugh can say Operation Chaos was meant to prolong the process, and damage Obama going into the general, NOW, but the actual result of his meddlinig could have been the nomination of Hillary Clinton, which one can only hope meant he thought Hillary would be a better President, or that she would be easier for McCain to beat. DOESN'T MATTER. Rush will say whatever he wants, because that's his business, being a blowhard.

36 Obama aides owe $833,000 in back taxes

By investors.com

How embarrassing this must be for President Obama, whose major speech theme so far this campaign season has been that every single American, no matter how rich, should pay their "fair share" of taxes.

Because how unfair -- indeed, un-American -- it is for an office worker like, say, Warren Buffet's secretary to dutifully pay her taxes, while some well-to-do people with better educations and higher incomes end up
paying a much smaller tax rate.

Or, worse, skipping their taxes altogether.

A new report just out from the Internal Revenue Service reveals that 36 of President Obama's executive office staff owe the country $833,970 in back taxes. These people working for Mr. Fair Share apparently
haven't paid any share, let alone their fair share.

Can anybody name a lasting accomplishment of the stimulus bill?

Jan Brewer bitch slapped Obama!

NoJoe, you just proved my point.

Have a nice day.

Alan NJ: Can anybody name a lasting accomplishment of the stimulus bill?

The money that paid for it is still part of the national debt.

Backhouse I can't look at her for that long to see.

Jan Brewer is known in her state as Otis. The town drunk.

Hey Port In Jacksmouth-- Don't go making those blind assumptions about me. I have contempt for you too and you're a white, geeky college student. And if you insist on NOT putting me on ignore as you promised, then the same goes for you. You are NOT to address me unless you refer to me as "Sir Damage123". Got it?

RE: Da Noid--- Who cares if the people of Nebraska were against Keystone. The people of Arizona are against illegal aliens but the administration is sticking it's nose into that, aren't they?

Yes, Alan.

$846 billion added to the debt.

Dennis, this project was a no brainer to approve. For a man that says he's concerned about jobs and mid-east oil independence, Obama certainly doesn't act that way.

Then why did Governor Heineman send the following letter to the President in August 2011?

Dear President Obama and Secretary Clinton:

I am writing to you today regarding a very important issue to the State of Nebraska and to our citizens- the Keystone XL Pipeline. I am opposed to the proposed route of this pipeline. The Final Environmental Impact Statement compares a potential spill in the Sand Hills region to a 1979 Bemidji, Minnesota spill and concludes that “the impacts to shallow groundwater from a spill of a similar volume in the Sand Hills region would affect a limited area of the aquifer around the spill site.” I disagree with this analysis, and I believe that the pipeline should not cross a substantial portion of the Ogallala Aquifer.

Of the current proposed route, 254 miles of the pipeline would come through Nebraska and be situated directly over the Ogallala Aquifer. The aquifer provides water to farmers and ranchers of Nebraska to raise livestock and grow crops. Nebraska has 92,685 registered, active irrigation wells supplying water to over 8.5 million acres of harvested cropland and pasture. Forty-six percent of the total cropland harvested during 2007 was irrigated. Maintaining and protecting Nebraska’s water supply is very important to me and the residents of Nebraska. This resource is the lifeblood of Nebraska’s agriculture industry. Cash receipts from farm markets contribute over $17 billion to Nebraska’s economy annually. I am concerned that the proposed pipeline will potentially have detrimental effects on this valuable natural resource and Nebraska’s economy.

I want to emphasize that I am not opposed to pipelines. We already have hundreds of them in our state. I am opposed to the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline route because it is directly over the Ogallala Aquifer.

Therefore, I am asking you to disapprove TransCanada’s pending permit request. Do not allow TransCanada to build a pipeline over the Ogallala Aquifer and risk the potential damage to Nebraska’s water. Thank you for your consideration of this matter.

www.governor.nebraska.gov/news/2011/08/31_pipeline.html

nojo

Obama Has shown respect for Woman" He understands they have rights to health care And fair wages in the work place. Are you equation "Jane" with a Lady??? NOT. She is a pig with lipstick. Evan Newt wouldn't want that one. BTW the two buffoons in the race for Rep/TP nod are BOTH unfavorable to women. So why are U so confused? Lay off the tea and turn of Faux.

Can anybody name a lasting accomplishment of the stimulus bill?

________________________________

How about nearly $1 Trillion in US Treaury debt with interest expense extending to infinity?

36 Obama aides owe $833,000 in back taxes

___________________________________

This is Hillaryous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't wait to see how the "pay your fair share of taxes" FR lefty liberals spin this one.

Of course, everyone knows his cabinet is FILLED with tax cheaters, why would we expect his aides to be any different??

Headline: Obama backed electric car battery maker Ener1 files for Bankruptcy

An Indiana-based energy storage company that received a $118.5 million stimulus-law grant from the Energy Department filed for bankruptcy Thursday.

Source: http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/206777-doe-backed-battery-company-files-for-bankruptcy

Wonder what Obama fund raising bundler was involved with this company.

Dearest Bill in Fairfax ---Quoting your quote with emphasis:

recessions since the Great Depression previously have lasted an average of 10 months, with the longest previously 16 months, and the deeper the recession the stronger the recovery."

Bill it is a GREAT RECESSION to which there is no historical data. Many factors have compounded our Great Recession. Wars, the tragic events in Japan and the euro crisis to name a few. Are you telling me those events were taking place in the last recessions????

Joe in Albany and No Jo... pretty much shuts down their argument that the stimulus did any good. Liberals call the Iraq and Afghanistan wars unfunded. How about Obama's stimulus... it was unfunded too. Liberals can't think beyond their noses when it comes to Obama... they insert their noses right up the smelly place on his body. Considering where their eyes are at that point all they see is his arse.

Can anybody name a lasting accomplishment of the stimulus bill?

Cops, fire fighters and teachers not needing to be laid off due to drastic cuts at state and local levels? Unfortunately the stimulus bill was less of a stimulus and more of a sustaining bill. A good portion of it went to states to prevent massive layoffs among cops, fire fighters and teachers. Another massive portion went to tax reductions. While that is stimulative for those that consume nearly all their income, it did little to nothing for those making greater then $250,000 per year. The truly stimulative part, the infrastructure spending, was greatly scaled back due to the need to get passed the Republican filibuster in the Senate.

You are NOT to address me unless you refer to me as "Sir Damage123"

In your dreams, Damage.

Here's a little truth for you: You and BrianB and ksw are in way over your heads on this Vine.

Bill in Fairfax -- Correction to above post: Those factors were not in play during those strong recoveries. Many factors continue to work against a strong recovery today.

Lasting effect of the stimulus bill...let me see...Oh I had a GREAT Christmas and my company finally hired the backlog of empty analyst we've been desperate for since 2009. So my job is GREAT right now! My wife bought a BUICK a few days ago and the 3 empty houses on my block have FINALLY been SOLD (with owners not RENTERS)!

Lasting effects of the stimulus. I guess it depends on what party you belong to but right now it's good to be proBO!

no joe, no bo, nj

Kaybeetoys favorite movie is, no doubt, Peter Pan.

"I do believe in fairies..."

Cute, no joe.

Now, let me guess your favorite movie... "Dumb and Dumber" ???

Hey everyone, Joe in Albany can afford salmon and Sam Adams!!! Joe, please let us know your financial prowess that has allowed you to obtain such expensive delicacies.

brianB: ok if that was a serious question (which I doubt since you automatically assume, ridiculously, that anyone who prefers Obama to the pack of lightweights on the Republican side are "liberals")--There are plenty of arguments about what obama has done to rescue the economy. You won't most likely approve of any of them because each and every one of them rejected the nonsensical notion that markets self-correct if you just stand aside (even Romney has of late dropped the ridiculousness of telling Floridians they need to 'hit bottom' and not look for any ideas from the government in alleviated the housing fiasco). There's a great piece in today's Washington Post (wait, let me guess, you're also going to assume the Washington Post is to be shunned because they carry both liberal and conservative commentary on their editorial pages??) Look for the piece on what the most hated man George B. ever appointed (Bernake) has been able to accomplish. That's a start for you. (we could also talk about saving the auto industry, but I'm going to take a wild guess that you think anything that also benefits some union jobs is worth saving?)

"name a lasting accomplishment of the stimulus bill".

So easy Clouseau:

We didn't go right off the cliff with Europe, or do the famous olympic superdive into a Bush Great Depression.

Thus in the history books, President Bush will only get the Award for the lesser Bush Great Recession.

Many factors continue to work against a strong recovery today.

Well, you finally stumbled onto ground truth: one of the factors working against a strong recovery (arguably the biggest factor) has been Obama's policies.

The truly stimulative part, the infrastructure spending, was greatly scaled back due to the need to get passed the Republican filibuster in the Senate.

http://otrans.3cdn.net/ee40602f9a7d8172b8_ozm6bt5oi.pdf

Go read this and tell me where they planned infrastructure. It had nothing to do with a filibuster. Also, you had 3 Republicans vote for the bill so it would have defeated an infrastructure.

But what I was looking for is there one bridge, one dam that was built that will last longer than the 2 years of stimulus? All I see is a high-speed rail line in California that no one will use, if it even gets built.

Bill in Fairfax -- That retort is beneath you. Please do tell...... what history do you refer to when comparing strong recoveries of the past to what we face today. Were we at war during those recoveries? Was the euro around to reek havoc on the global front?

Bill Fairfax: But what I was looking for is there one bridge, one dam that was built that will last longer than the 2 years of stimulus? All I see is a high-speed rail line in California that no one will use, if it even gets built.

Recall the bridge between Kentucky and Ohio that Obama stood in front as an example of an aging infrastructure that needed to be replaced? The Brent Spencer bridge. It's not scheduled for repaired until 2015. No stimulus dollars there.

The media never seems to follow up on these bs speeches Obama gives.

Alan,

“All I see is a high-speed rail line in California that no one will use, if it even gets built.”

Very same thing that was said when Ike decided to build the Interstate Highway system – today we couldn’t compete without it. Meanwhile the Pacific Rim countries are building rail systems that move people and goods quicker and cheaper than we can and we turn our noises in the air at this cost reducing infrastructure project.

This type of attitude will cause us to continue to slide in our ability to compete in the world market.

Very same thing was said about Kennedy’s plan to go to the moon. Thanks to that move we have advanced in technology faster than anyone would have ever forecasted.

Go read this and tell me where they planned infrastructure. It had nothing to do with a filibuster. Also, you had 3 Republicans vote for the bill so it would have defeated an infrastructure.

Are you arguing that Republicans support infrastructure spending? I know it used to be that they did and while they might agree on the surface, once you actually try to spend some money they will balk at any agreement and cry deficit.

It is a known fact that bridges and roads are falling apart all across the country due to decades of neglect. Regardless whether Democrats invested time trying to plan projects it wouldn't have been approved by the Senate Republicans and would therefore be a complete waste of time.

Unfortunately the filibuster no longer requires an actual speech to prevent an end to debate. Time to bring the cots back and let America watch the Republicans read the phone book and get on the record where they truly stand on issues. Enough of this bullsh!t half truths in the media. Get on the record with votes instead of threatening a filibuster that results in no record of individual positions by the politicians.

@ Jack just because I don't drink the koolaid propraganda from either side doesn't mean I am in over my head. I would say the extremists on this site just have their heads shoved up a different place. Now take your elitist attitude and put me on ignore.

SayitaintSo-628660

Okay Prohibition, I'll play along with you on this one. What, in your opinion, actions has this current President done that are a violation of the Constitution? Now, before you answer lets make sure we are all playing by the same rules. If you choose to state any actions that the current President has taken that are equal to the actions that previous Presidents have taken, I'm sorry but your oppositional point would qualify is hypocrisy unless you are also condemning that equivalent action by the previous President. Understand, that is the criteria that I am using to judge the credibility of your claim.

So go ahead and explain to me and the others on this board those, in your own words "...actions of that piece of filth that wipes his ass with the most sacred document since our country's existence?" has done which violates the Constitution?

Well. some of these actions are the same as things that Bush2 was guilty of, and I was hating it then too. I used to be a Democrat up until the middle of last year. First and foremost, both Bush2 and Obama need to be brought up on charges of war crimes.

The unPatriot act was a big one, both of them guilty. Invading Iraq on Bushs part, then continuing to increase US forces in Iraq, despite claims that he would do the exact opposite, on Obama's. Obama's continuing presence in Afghanistan, we got Bin Laden (supposedly, theres still NEVER been proof of that), why hasnt he brought troops home yet...? But, theres more than a few both are guilty of, now, under Obama alone.

Obama, acting alone has, first and foremost assasinated a US citizen without his due process rights. That was the deal breaker for me, the worst precedence for any dictatorship to gain hold is the ability to kill citizens who question their authority, all it takes is giving that person a label, which just so happens to be given to them by none other than the dictator in charge, and they can order their killing! This was the EXACT situation that our forefathers wrote those ammendments into the constitution to prevent. Not even Bush went that far with his unConstitutionality, remember John Walker Lindh, the "American Taliban"? At least Bush brought that piece of filth home to have his day in court. The second biggest mostrosity of the Obama administration was passing the NDAA act sections 1021 and 1022, which allows for indefinite detention, also without due process. This equates to Hitler's action of locking up whoever the nazi party determined to be politically unsavory.

As most Obama supporters like to counter, he has promised his administration wouldn't use these powers on american citizens. Well, first, he's already flat out lied to us in the past, for one, he promised he would veto the NDAA act... and then, his campaign promises about bringing the troops out of Iraq "the first thing I will do in office, and you can take that to the bank.", and that he would shut down Gitmo. And second, just because he promises not to abuse these powers, even if he keeps that promise, by putting those powers in place, what is there to prevent future administrations from abusing these powers???

Those few are the most major problems with this current administration, I'm kinda too busy with work to dig into any others right now. But I would love to hear some valid justification for supporting Obama with those right there...

I stand by my statement. Obama admitted there were no shovel ready jobs... so that cancels that out. Bailouts for GM, Chrysler and GE were all part of TARP which was originated by Bush. Liberals know this. They have used this against conservatives for years.

You are delusional.

The independent economic analysis shows the stimulus helped. Your projection cancels nothing out.

TARP was passed under Bush. However, the auto bailout was almost completely Obama. Bush did through some money at them in Dec. of 2008, but the bankruptcy plan was completely under Obama.

But neither thing is backed up by Obama but you liberals still give him the credit for it. He accepts the credit for it and he dwells on your praise. How stupid is that? And you call me a hack. Your credibility just got flushed down the toilet.

Huh? It is backed up with independent analysis. Analysis you consistently ignore because it does not show what you were todl you should desperately want to believe.....making you a hack.

Study up, child.

John Makin of the conservative think tank, the American Enterprise Institute:

The real economy also responded to the massive stimulus but remained heavily dependent on it. In the United States, growth during the second half of 2009 probably averaged about 3 percent. Absent temporary fiscal stimulus and inventory rebuilding, which taken together added about 4 percentage points to U.S. growth, the economy would have contracted at about a 1 percent annual rate during the second half of 2009.

http://www.aei.org/outlook/100928

Or Mark Zandi, advisor to the McCain campaign:

The Great Recession has finally come to an end, in large part because of unprecedented policy efforts by the Federal Reserve and fiscal policymakers. The cost to taxpayers has been substantial but would have been even greater if aggressive action was not taken and the financial crisis and recession had been allowed to continue unchecked.

http://www.economy.com/mark-zandi/documents/JEC-Fiscal-Stimulus-102909.pdf

Or the CBO about the third quarter of 2009:

On that basis, CBO estimates that in the third quarter of calendar year 2009, an additional 600,000 to 1.6 million people were employed in the United States, and real (inflation-adjusted) gross domestic product (GDP) was 1.2 percent to 3.2 percent higher, than would have been the case in the absence of ARRA (see Table 1). Those ranges are intended to reflect the uncertainty of such estimates and to encompass most economists’ views on the effects of fiscal stimulus.

http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/106xx/doc10682/Frontmatter.2.2.shtml

Or what the CBO said about the forth quarter of 2009:

In sum, CBO estimates that in the fourth quarter of calendar year 2009, ARRA’s policies:
-- Raised real GDP by between 1.5 percent and 3.5 percent,
-- Lowered the unemployment rate by between 0.5 percentage points and 1.1 percentage points,
-- Increased the number of people employed by between 1.0 million and 2.1 million, and
-- Increased the number of full-time-equivalent jobs by 1.4 million to 3.0 million compared with what those amounts would have been otherwise (see Table 1).

The effects of ARRA on output and employment are expected to increase further in calendar year 2010 but then diminish in 2011 and fade away by the end of 2012 (see Table 3).

http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=11044

On that basis, CBO estimates that in the first quarter of calendar year 2010, ARRA’s policies:
--Raised the level of real (inflation-adjusted) gross domestic product (GDP) by between 1.7 percent and 4.2 percent,
--Lowered the unemployment rate by between 0.7 percentage points and 1.5 percentage points,
--Increased the number of people employed by between 1.2 million and 2.8 million, and
--Increased the number of full-time-equivalent jobs by 1.8 million to 4.1 million compared with what those amounts would have been otherwise (see Table 1). (Increases in FTE jobs include shifts from part-time to full-time work or overtime and are thus generally larger than increases in the number of employed workers.)

http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/115xx/doc11525/05-25-ARRA.pdf

Analysis of the auto bailout:

http://www.cargroup.org/pdfs/bankruptcy.pdf

------------------------------------------------

Everything I post about Obama is legitimate. I can't help it if you are so blind you can't even find your way to the bathroom. You really need to stop soiling on yourself... you make the room stink.

BWHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAA!!!!! Nothing you post about Obama is legitimate. It is the result of your patisan blindness. This is why you cannot back up a single thing you were fed, and now repeat.

This is why your sorry excuse for an "argument" devovled to talking about finding bathrooms (or not..finding them in time), instead of evolving to you actually supporting the crap you spew.

Study up, child.

@Dennis

The high speed rail in California excels at government stupidity in planning. The Federal Government appropriates (borrows) money demanding that it be spent in a certain time frame or you lose it. California can only build in the least populated area because they're not ready but they don't want to lose the money. How is this logical at any level. If the rail line is worth it build it in the areas that have the demand. This has all the makings of a white elephant. It's so stupid they borrowed the money, are paying interest on it and demanding it be used where it is not needed. Unbelievable!!

However, I see you can't name an infrastructure entity that was built with stimulus money.

Bill.

Well, you finally stumbled onto ground truth: one of the factors working against a strong recovery (arguably the biggest factor) has been Obama's policies.

You are Deeeelusional.

The independent economic analysis shows the opposite. The independent economic analysis shows the administrations policies helped the economy.

The legislative record shows the GOP has blocked more relief, that the independent economic analysis shows worked.

Thus, logic would suggest it is the GOP that has hindered the recovery.

Less cable news (or whatever is feeding you) would do you good.

Alan,

Only 9% ($71 billion) of the stimulus was spent on infrastructure. About 15% of what should have been spent.

As for the “Rail Restrictions” is the one word you hate – waivers – if needed.

AP - How many non-liberals prefer Obama? I'm not talking in 2008 terms, but today. 2008 was the most rediculous election I've ever witnessed. Obama fever was rampant... The age of American Idol was at it's peak. The country exhibited a mania about a rock star presidential candidate that was unprecidented. Signs of the times... signs of the times.

Flash forward 3 years to take a look back. How's our national debt doing? Would you consider $15 trillion managable? Add to that whatever Obama will increase it by in a second term. Doesn't that give you at least a shiver up your spine? He has no problem asking for trillions at a time and charging it off to the national debt... I mean does it really concern him at all? Even if he presides for the next 4 years, he'll be out of the danger zone when he can't run anymore and what liberal will EVER blame him if our economy fails? We all know it was George Bush's fault. I wonder if people born blind realize they are blind.

The Obama worship exhibited by the liberals is something I marvel at. A president that only sticks his toe in the water deserves so much praise from people of questionable character. Signs of the times... signs of the times.

no joe, no bo, nj

Once again, Obama parades his contempt for women....

Completely untrue. I can provide a nice list of legislation that debunks your statment.

Now you NJ....you seem to have contempt for anyone who disagrees with you. That's just plain unhealthy. But there is now coverage (thanks to the ACA) that will help you with your pre-existing hate and contempt.

Bill: just face the hard, hard fact. The stimulus worked. Now I know that's just a dreadful admission for ya, but eventually, you are simply going to have to face reality.

Brainb.

Seriously. Stop your desperate quest to prove those easily debunked and over parroted 2008 campaign projections that never came true.

Start doing real research away from the usual partisan hacks feeding you.

Then you can back up your posts, and not be taken to school on issues you know nothing about.

Study up.

Greg in New York - How dare you say Republicans don't support spending! Why good old Newton Gingrich has already laid out plans for a moon space station. LMAO! I feel like I am in bizarro world listening to Republicans. They cry no more spending, then as soon as Newt says he guarentees he will build a station on the moon everyone cheers????

Dennis in Columbus; you need to go back and check your numbers. The average of all polls taken since the beginning of this month indicates that 64.2%of all Americans polled say the country is headed ion the wrong direction. Secondly the NBC/Wall Street Journal Poll is the only one that shows 61%. All others show 63% or more, and the Rasmussen Poll which was concluded only two days before NBC/WSJ, shows 67%.

Furthermore, all of the polls combined show a 1.9% difference between Obama and Romney....well within any-body's margin for error. If Obama was THAT GOOD a President it wouldn't even be close.

What this all means is that your boy is beatable in November.

...and I would heed my own advice if I were YOU Republicants. Obama is going to be taken to task on his failed campaign promises from 2008, and who knows where that will lead us.

DEMOCRATS FOR ROMNEY 2012!

Compare Obama and Reagan at the 3 year mark. If the unemployment numbers are below 8 by September - the Republicans could be in for tough going - everywhere.

Romney's casual "I pay 15%" remark may cost him the nomination.

Gingrich is not just a white collar criminal, he's also an immoral, unethical, and despicable character - and Romney may have just handed him the nomination for his party.

Jan Brewer - that finger wave may sum up the GOP's attitude toward the president for the last 4 years - not a pretty picture. And it could turn public sentiment against them.

Keep up the BS, MSNBC. I knew as soon as January hit, the economy would turn around, according to you. Anyone with a brain can see it's all HS propaganda for the left, which is about all you see on here anymore.

I say we keep the capital gains tax at 15%, but send "carried interest" to earned income, not investments. I mean, I know the logic of keeping capital gains taxes low to keep good investments and revenues high. But we have to have a fair tax code. I say we let the highest income bracket rate back to 39.6% and probably push it a bit higher. It is all part of my plan. David, Skiddy, doul, etc, could you look at it???

1. Deficit Reduction Package over 12 years:

• Cut defense by $800 billion. Prioritize spending to match the investments made by the Chinese, install cyber-defense system to defend American projects and info. Close 144 bases (mostly in Europe and US)= $40 billion a year. Invest more in drones. Cap aircraft carriers at 13. Target waste in private contracting.
• $1.2 trillion in savings from entitlement reform: Raise cap to 90% of taxable income; preserve tax on $3.5 million estate; progressive indexing; adjust COLA, etc.
• Remove Bush tax cuts except $1.2 trillion for middle/lower class earners= $3.2-3.6 trillion savings. Repeal all of Bush tax cuts in 2015 but save deductions for marriage, house, children, etc.
• Gradually increase taxes on the highest income bracket to 45.4% from 39.6% after repeal of Bush tax cuts=$900 billion.
• Increase capital gains tax to 21%.
• Reform tax code, eliminate loopholes and most tax expenditures. Add a value-added tax at about 4-5% as long as it won't stifle growth or overburden taxpayers. If it does stifle growth, wait until economy (unemployment rate, stock market data, etc) is up to pre-recession levels and then enact it.
• Lower corporate tax rate to competitive 17.5% BUT no loopholes and ALL corporations pay 17.5%. NO TAX REFUNDS for corporations.
• Eliminate $100 billion in subsidies for oil/gas, ethanol, and farms. Use $60 billion for deficit and the rest for incentives in clean energy.
• Reform government departments, agencies. Place Dept. of Homeland Security under Defense Department.
• Cut $2.1 trillion from the rest of discretionary spending EXCEPT NASA and Education.
• Wealth tax to discourage hoarding of money.
• Total savings=~$9 trillion over 12 years including lower interest.

2. Economic Plan (paid for by a 4% surtax on people who make over $1 million).

• $60 billion in infrastructure bank.
• $40 billion in incentives for clean energy, plus increases in subsidies and new projects to construct solar power plants, wind farms, nuclear power plants, hydroelectric dams, etc.
• 100% duty on goods from nations that manipulate trade markets (China, Russia, etc).
• $50 billion for innovation.
• Education reform along lines of Obey Porter model. Also investing into Head Start education program. Merit-based pay, $2,000 per student, and revamp of building conditions and technology. Follow example of nations beating us with new teaching techniques.
• Immigration reform. Sponsor immigration of those excelling in science, math, technology, etc and offer them government jobs if they can't get them in the private sector.
• $200 billion in plan to rebuild America using underemployed and unemployed people.
• $50 billion to upgrade U.S. airports, refineries, oil rigs, and harbors.
• Help housing market by speeding up foreclosure time, destroying old houses for new projects, writing off underwater mortgages, and having the feds and state and local govts buy houses and teaming up with private sector to rent out homes and split profits until market fully recovers (nice revenue stream; less foreclosures; win-win).
• Reinstate Glass-Steagall Act.
• Reform Wall Street.
• Full employment policies.
• Living wages and higher minimum wage after recovery.
• Low-cost higher education.
• Employee Ownership Programs.
• Creation of a Pacific trade zone area open to all nations THAT WILL OBEY TRADE LAWS. China will not be initially invited until they cooperate with the WTO on trade fraud.
• Decrease inequality by promoting education, strong safety nets for the unemployed, and pro-growth policies from both the left AND the right, including a more progressive tax structure.
• $50 billion for domestic energy exploration.
• $40 billion for Department of Tourism and 200,000 embassy workers to speed up time to get a visa to visit the US. Increase tourism, create jobs, and allow people to spend money in America.
• Broad national regulatory overview: cut wasteful regulations in some sectors (energy infrastructure, etc) and install new regulations in others (financial markets, housing, etc).
• New regulation: all companies must increase their employees salaries at least once every two to five years and must index for inflation (allows middle and lower class income to increase steadily).
• Follow People's Budget economic rebooting package and tax reform onhttp://grijalva.house.gov/uploads/The_CPC_FY2012_Budget.pdf
• Post Office reform. Eliminate health benefit payment over 75 years; buyout 100,000 employees; invest in online shipping and deliveries; eliminate all transfers of money to federal accounts until Post Office balance sheet is balanced; increase cost of stamps by $.03; temporary 2% pay cut and 15% decrease in administrative salaries.
• Tax all companies on money made on American market. Give deductions for companies for every dollar they spend hiring American workers who earn a salary/benefits of under $250,000 or purchasing Made in America supplies, goods, parts, materials, etc.
• Remove any breaks for companies that offshore jobs, and offer a large tax credit for every wave insourced jobs from companies based on number of jobs insourced (around $5,000-8,000 per head).

3. Reform Government.

• Government funded campaigns and zero-contributions of private donors (unions, companies, etc) but welcome for individual donations under $200.
• Elimination of Super PACs and reject corporate/union person-hood.
• Proportional representation.
• Filibuster reform. Limit amount per year and make certain bills immune.
• Cut congressional budgets by 20% and decrease pay for officials from $170,000+ to $80,000.
• Constitutional amendment keeping lobbyists away from Capitol Hill when in session.
• NO VACATIONS OR PAY when deadlock is in government.
• Congress can no longer vote to increase their own pay. That occurs automatically when national standard of living rises.

I know it's a bit long but that is it. Please comment on it and send your suggestions.

LouisJ

A long curve but a good turn. As the long curve on economic recovery appears to come to an end, we can get a glimpse of what on the road ahead. Some places may be bumpy, others may be crooked, but with President Obama and a new House and Senate, we can make some serious repairs to bring about a progressive future.

Louis

I was thinking that same exact thing since the SOTU & yesterday's poll

New poll reveals growing economic optimism

http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/46139369/#46139369

Division SURE!!! Don't you just love it when right wing nut jobs cannibalize each other?

The income gap that's haunted Mitt in the GOP race could be a serious election problem – if he gets that far.

http://www.salon.com/2012/01/25/the_trouble_with_being_the_swiss_bank_account_guy/singleton/

Fox & Friends Covers The State Of The Union

http://mediamatters.org/

Fox's Ramsey: "Last Night Our President Declared War On Success"

http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201201250006

Doocy: "When You Look At" Obama's Economic Record, "It's So Bad, He Can't Really Run On It"

http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201201250003

====================================================================

Have you noticed how the 2 dunces get all excited like 2 little tattle tails running to tell their mother what somebody just did? Tee Hee Ha Ha :) :)

What about that fake CBO study FOX NOISE put up?

Must be that graphics dept AGAIN!!

Or should we just let the Left use her as one of their Icons of Injustice, you know, by picking out what fits the Lefts agenda and leaving the rest of the truth in some vague mist?

JoJo ... without all the facts in front of you, you are just bashing away with an ideological club, and when you do that you lose. Except of course with those who are as indoctrinated as you are. Four people believing the world is flat does not make it so.

Ideology,

Thought I would pop up here and say good morning. Are you flirting with JoJo today?

Depends of who the four people are!

jollyoldsoul1

... they ride horses

Phine ... to borrow from Oscar Wilde ... flirtation is attention without intention :)

Ideology,

I take it your water problems are solved, and you "small" puppy (LOL) is happy.

There you are Phine ... tag, you're it ...

I happy to report that both my plumbing and my house's plumbing are in top form today.

Did you know that old plumbers never die, they just smell that way.

Goodness! Business is good here on FT's this morning, Ideology. I can barely find where I posted last! BTW, I have an electrician friend who is shocked, I say, shocked at your comment about plumbers!:)

Louis and Bev- There are a few things I have a problem with the SOTU the other evening:

1. The President spoke of "fairness" in taxation. Why is it that federal employees owe over $3 billion in back taxes and that just 36 of the President's own office staff owe over $833,000 in back taxes? Why is it that his staff and federal workers don't feel the need to pay their taxes. Note that I didn't include Geitner?

2. Why is it that Mr. Buffet is mentioned all the time. His own company is witholding taxes and only now is in "negotiations" with the IRS for over $2 billion owed from 2005. That is, Birkshire Hathaway is only NOW getting to talk about paying their taxes from over SIX years ago. I'd think that he's a fairly poor example of businesses exploiting the tax system.

3. While the rest of us are trying to get by, why is it that the federal government is allowed to spend more and just "raise the spending caps" when ever they want to? The President's own staff got massive raises last year- Why should they get 20 to 200% raises when the rest of us are just glad to be employed for another year w/o a raise??

4. Why wasn't there any mention of the deficit? It's grown over 50% in the last three years and paying for it takes more money than our GDP. Why isn't the President talking about spending less?

Inquiring minds want to know....

The reason the Republicans will lose in November is because of the blatantly false accusations hurled at the President right in front of hundreds of millions of Americans who can plainly see that the economy is improving. If Republicans keep denying the obvious job growth numbers and continue to stick to their gloom and doom story, people are going to assume they just lie about everything and will simply stop expecting to hear the truth from Republicans, even if many within the party firmly believe it themselves. You can't perpetuate a lie without the public at least believing that your opinions have even an ounce of credibility - which they don't.

Democrats bring ideas and creative solutions to problems. Republicans bring no new ideas ever and instead offer a list of reasons why nothing will ever work - unless it involves tax breaks for the wealthiest. That's not a hard pattern to trace with Republicans over the past three-plus years.

Currently worthless party with no ideas and no vision. The Republican party is now, in essence, blind to the point of irrelevance in 2012. I just hope the majority of Americans will clearly recognize this before the elections. Republicans hope you do not.

The republicans will bring about the downfall of this country solely because they don't have a candidate that can kick Obama out of the office.

By allowing Obama a second term, they will kill us.

AlexM-2364525

By allowing Obama a second term, they will kill us.

America is stronger than that. They're not killing us... they're killing your party. You don't need to take your country back... you need to take your party back. I know a lot of moderate Republicans who have been standing on the sidelines and they're getting fed up. The frustration will come to a head in November.

Louis: the media does not make a profit by educating people, they make a profit by selling advertising. You already know the answer to your question: the media would not be serving their own interest unless they keep us in a constant state of panic. "The Economy Is Generally On The Mend" just doesn't generate nearly as many clicks as "Will You EVER Be Able To Retire?????"

Independent Redneck Va.

Wild Willie and Newt deserve each other.

Exactly, they both love attention.

IR,

It does feel like the 90's whenever I hear Newton talk. Even Tom De Lay was quoted today in one of the leadins.

But Newton is low on money. His campaign spent$ 200,000+ to Romney's$6millon in FL.

His time is now or never...

IR.....this is a great piece, thank you. Wouldn't the GOP like to have Clinton to gnaw at again. For these people who think themselves as the smartest one in the room, they usually let their ego drive their narrative and develop a sense they can say and do anything with little or no consequence. I, for one, can never forgive Bill Clinton, for handing the right, a gift wrapped incident, which of course, they ran with it ......into the ground. For this Democrat, it was the utmost betrayal, I am not that liberal.

I also believe, that the consequences of his actions are still being felt in the political world, which we are all paying for in one way or another. Clinton is a an interesting man, highly intelligent, but like Newt Gingrich, he believes his own press too much.

The reason the people on the right who post here are so upset, is they know President Obama is going to win re-election. Look at who he will be running against. Not exactly an A team.

Exactly GBM. As our friend Nash is wont to say onward and upward.

Indeed IR....let's keep the flag flying. Hope your day goes well

Thanks for sharing this, IR. GBM---in terms of unintended consequences, if you think about it, the Clinton years made Al Gore more vulnerable than he might have been and that in turn lead to the whole Florida election debacle and the George W. Bush presidency, from which we still haven't recovered.

No wonder we have a bad reaction to Newt for bringing back all those memories.

For all of you giving redneck this great pat on the back... i don't care who you are i do know your party now... but to get rid of that old out of date piece of paper called the constitution??? Good bye America... Independent redneck Va writes"The Constitution and its amendments are so 18th, 19th and 20th century." hell ya get rid of that dirty old piece of paper... your sick i served in the military and my stomach turns from statements like that.. why did i fight for OUR country if you want to throw that old piece of paper away or just get rid of the parts you don't like... if i read more into your post i'am sorry but i really don't believe i did...

Yes SF, that is what I mean....I do believe it had that consequence and it also affected Hillary's chances, and while I didn't support her for this very reason, she too, would make a good President as is President Obama. I'm grateful he prevailed, I believe that Bill did not help Hillary in her campaign.

GBM---I hope that Hillary takes a break from being Secretary of State, writes a book, recharges her batteries and runs in 2016. She would have my support.

I dont care if he wins......I just worry about what he will do is he wins with a liberal congress. Im just so happy Im close to retirement age and have no need of any Gov assistance. YET! Anyone in that middle group (not poor but not what some of you Left call rich) are worried that the rules may change and all our plans to retire will fade away.

Larry,

Where in the post does IR say that he wants to get rid of the US Constitution? He makes a reference to amendments.

Yes larryincali you did read more into it than was really there. That's okay there 'lil feller it'll be up all day and you can go back over it and see if it don't come to you. Stick with it now.

Pope Limbaugh pronounces that it was a “mark of character” for Newt to ask his second wife for permission while cheating on her.

Whoa...I missed that one. It was a mark of character all right-- a mark of utter lack of character. If your own wife and family cannot rely on your loyalty, who the hell can?

Question: Who is scarier, Limbaugh or the people who buy into his Orwellian* B.S.??

*As some readers may be unfamiliar with the term, a definition is in order:

Orwellian:

The word is sometimes used to describe the peculiar, nonsensical thought process behind Oceania's (fictional setting of Orwell's 1984) social structure--a thought process in which ideas that are obviously self-contradictory are accepted as true based on the fact that an authority figure is asserting them.

Sf, I too would support her in 2016, just hope Bill keeps a low profile then.

What in the world do you mean?? "Yes We Can" was a campaign slogan/zombie chant put forth 4 years ago by a man who can't do anything but drive our country towards a destiny where mediocrity is rewarded by government goons who think they should control your actions, your money, and your thoughts. Yes we can?? Consider it nothing short of of a a god-send that others are out there fighting with a battle cry of "don't you dare" (even when the ignorant re-phrase it as "no you can't").

Halliwax,

Thank you for making my point.

P.S. Paranoia kills . . . time to explore the music stations on your radio! :o)

Good job Nashville Fan. Your Zombie voice sounds great today! Thanks for making my point too: "Just trust us.. yes we can... trust us... yes we can... yes we can... (you can't do it yourself)... We can... We can... We can..."

Amen, Nash. We want a leader who will help us go forward in a positive direction, not drag us down with negativity. That was the hope I felt when I voted for President Obama in 2008 and it is the hope I will bring to work hard for his re-election in 2012.

Halliwax: Yes we can beats 'let em eat cake' every time. Guess the point of staying positive just as America recovers from GW was just too subtle for you?

She certainly is not a class act. WT through and through.

Jan Brewer calling the President "thin skinned".......WOW!....

Brewer needs to see a dermatologist, sooner than later! That AZ sun has done her skin no good!

Here's the real transcript of the tarmac dialogue:

Obama: "Thanks for angering the Hispanics of the nation. Thanks to you they'll all vote for me in November, ha ha."

Brewer: "I used to think that I could show respect for anyone holding the office of the president, but then YOU (finger point) took office and spent 3 years putting us in eternal debt to China! I just wish that I could use the finger I REALLY want to use towards you!!"

Obama: "Like I said... thanks for angering the Hispanics and now the Liberals. Where is that phone number for China... I really need to borrow some more money..."

How dare her offend,,,,messiah!!!!

Nevermind the criminal invasion and it's 11,000,000 leeches filling the welfare roles of every state.

Ignore the $1,200,000,000,000.00 a year in increased DEBT,,,,,messiah cut $32 billion from that JUST last year!!!!!! Heck, he reduced the massive budget by almost 1/2 of 1%!

Jobless claims,,,why they are down to 4.8 million a year!!! Nevermind the TWO million people who are no longer counted as unemployed because their benefits ran out, or the million who are working part-time. I'm sure we will have them working at the wind-mill factory or on a high speed railroad soon enough,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Iran's nukes???? why messiah will sing a little Al Green and that will be allllllll better.

Heck he almost submitted a budget this year. One in four years ain't that bad,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,right?

Save America from marxism,,,,,,,,,,Vote anyone but Barry in 2012.

Brewer is just like all the other tea people GOP republicans, she disrespects the United States of America.

More kool aid for paidmyfee.

paidmyfee: so you are truly, truly upset at GW for being the REAL food stamp president or did you just notice the recession when the black guy became President? Missing your good ol boy messiah? Ready to launch more wars? The recovery got ya down? Poor baby. .Better hope the country makes a lot more old angry white guys real soon.

Truth hurts,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Sad fact of life,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"old angry white guys" pay the taxes that fund your lazy loser lifestyle.

Putting another black family in public housing was not an accomplishment. Getting them out of public housing and into real jobs back in Chicago,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,that will end the recession.

Many don't like having a person of color in charge. These same people should perform some fact checks.

Many people don't like an invasion from other countries being ignored by a loser president who despises the nation he was elected to lead.

If you knew a "fact" it would astound the rest of America.

First you have to know what a "fact" is, actually. After you get the definition of a "fact", do a little research and you will notice that even the federal government says there are MILLIONS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS in our nation.

They are a massive tax drain, burden to social services and they are stealing from the actual AMERICAN CITIZENS who are most in need of public services.

If you want to be generous with YOUR money, squander it on criminals. If you want to be generous with mine,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,I would prefer we support Americans with our tax dollars.

Thanks for playing, good luck next time.

Nash....my thoughts exactly.....this is a picture that says more about her than anything else. But.....

Louis, I do like your interpretation.

It is a visual "you lie". How proud for the people of Arizona to be represented by this woman.

I can't believe she is a Governor.

I guess you like this visual better

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/04/obamaflipsoffcl.html

Good morning dangerfield!

Well, the GOP establishment wants Romney. The base is pulling for Newt. And neither side is happy. I do believe J-E-B is hearing the rumblings of an unhappy party.

Dangerfield - You keep trying to make Jeb happen, give it up. Jeb has shown no desire to get in and if the GOP appointed him the nominee through a brokered convention the base would freak out. Most voters outside Florida are not that familiar with Jeb, but they do know the Bush name. Giving Jeb, who isn't running, the nomination would make a lot of Republicans wonder if the GOP was a Democratic institution or a Monarchy.

To say that many in the GOP would consider Jeb illegitimate is an understatement.

nisl,

The GOP is will be looking at the fact that Jeb was a popular governor from a swing state that has not been bloodied by the primary. As for the Bush name, folks may say the same about the Clinton name (as they did in 2008) if Hillary decides to run in 2016.

Jeb will wait his turn. Remember his brother put us in this mess, and it will be 2016 when he comes out.

nisl-

I am simply putting forth a thesis...I will continue until it is PROVEN to be incorrect. If you have a different thesis, feel free to present it, along with your supporting materials. What is your expertise here? Are you a Republican? A Conservative? A Floridian?

https://www.google.com/search?q=jeb+bush&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a#q=jeb+bush+president+2012&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=FH7&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&prmd=imvnsuo&tbas=0&source=lnt&sa=X&ei=MGshT82lK-ry0gGhiuS3CA&ved=0CAkQpwUoAA&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=ad624a0b9fcc9b2b&biw=1440&bih=660

Phine - If Newt wins Florida the GOP establishment will go crazy, so yes, you are correct that the GOP will be looking at Jeb. But I doubt Jeb wants any part of the Presidential race this year. I think he would rather take his first shot at it in 2016 then come back and win the nomination in 2020. And even if Jeb were willing I'd bet the establishment wouldn't choose a Bush so soon after Dubya to force on a Republican base that didn't vote for him.

2012 GOP = 1968 Democrats

Think that is right, dangerfield?

nisl,

If not Jeb, then who?

I still stand behind it Phine-

I think Erick Erickson gets the same vibe...

If not Jeb, then who?

Now that is a good question. We are talking about people that are NOT in the race right now? If not for the last name, and Jeb's pre-existing decision to wait until the next election cycle, I'd say Jeb. Since I don't think Jeb is doable this time around I'd say, maybe John Thune? Heck, if not for his hiking issues I'd think Mark Sanford would be a possible.

But really I don't think it will go to a brokered convention, and if it does I'd guess they would give it to Mitt Romney (unless there is some sort of scandal that hasn't broken yet.) I just don't see them appointing a nominee nobody voted for.

Phine,

I like your comparision to 1968.

Wonder who the" George Wallace" of the GOP will be in 2012?

Phine, is asking me, as I have stated that several times...Wallace ran as a 3rd party candidate.

The comparison is about the rift between ideological purity (Eugene McCarthy) and 'electability" (Hubert Humphrey)

So there is no "George Wallace" in the scenario, unless Ron Paul gets hit by a lightning bolt...

On Jeb Bush, it is highly unlikely that he will run. He has the liability of his last name together with the effects of his brother's administration that are still hurting us. Although he may have been a better President, but George poisoned that well. For Democrats, he was not very popular. Republicans like to promote him as the second coming of St. Ronnie Reagan which is not much in and of itself.

Jeb has baggage within his immediate family with running for President, his wife, Columba, is not known for her fondness for being in the limelight along with other family issues. I believe that Jeb's son George, is being groomed for a future in politics, although he may have to change his name. So no, I dont think he'll step into the breach and take one for the team.

dangerfield,

Didn't you once reference an article or op/ed about if one candidate (I think Romney) was the nominee, it would set back the conservative movement for a decade. I have been trying to find it with no luck.

Based on the "analysis" of several members of Team Blue. loos like J-E-B would be a far more formidable candidate than anyone in the current field...I agree!

Look at either NRO or RedState, as I don't remember which, but it was a conservative website...

It is almost a joke that the so called conservatives have no opinion on J-E-B, but many who would never cast a vote for a Republican are "certain" that he is an impossibility...isn't it?

Phine-

The look at NRO etc above was in answer to your question,...

dangerfield,

Thanks! Beginning to think I just imagined the article! Just want to re read it again. Noticed a pac out there, US American Freedom, using the same type of rhetoric.

And I did notice the "No Jeb" comments are all from the left. All I hear from the right is the sounds of crickets on a quiet night.

They (Republicans) feel like friends do when a couple is breaking up;

Even if they couldn't stand the other person they can't say anything negative for fear that the couple may reunite and their comments brought to light...Plus most are probably closet Romney supporters who are as nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs right now, and with good reason!...

dangerfield,

My two cats (Eleanor & Franklin, yes that is really their names) truly appreciate your analogy! LOL

(Side note, we have close friends who have 2 daschunds named Winston & Clementyne)

Cute! (I still like "cuff" and "link" Rocky's pet turtles!)

I think the quote was Jimmy Carville...but am not sure

My cat is a six-toed pixie bobcat...so no long tail...

Eleanor was a rescue, and Franklin, well I guess you could say he was a rescue. He was nothing but a head and ribs sticking out when he walked in my front door, laid in the middle of the living room purring. He is the most lovable cat in the world, spoiled rotten, and from a rough beginning before finding me, he is now the ultimate house cat!(From skin and bones to 25 pounds of pure love) And Eleanor, she is the princess that rules us all- especially Franklin.

I will add to the pet story. I have 3 Yorkies, a bona fide family the sire is Sampson the Dam is Delilah their puppy is Cleopatra. Its fun when the Postal service or ups/fedex show up at my house.

jolly,

I bet!!! (Like your name choices, too)

5 dogs, all rescues. That is what happens when you start an animal rescue organization in your spare time.

Dangerfield said:

What is your expertise here? Are you a Republican? A Conservative? A Floridian?

Republican? Yes

Conservative? Yes

Floridian? Yes

If you question is whether or not I would be enthusiastic about a Jeb Bush campaign...my answer there would be yes...I would be a helluva lot more enthusiastic about him running than either Romney or Gingrich. Alas, it is his last name that will hurt him. I personally think he'd make a pretty good President. But that's just me! :-)

Dangerfield,

The comparison to the 1968 election is true to the extent the GOP is fighting for their identity.

In 1968 the anti- war and progressives, for the most part, did not vote for HHH. Wallace kept the South from going for HHH.

Today, the question is who will the tea party , religious right support? And the Paul supporters ,will they embrace Romney?

In the end, Romney like HHH, will secure the nomination of his party. Can he unify the GOP? That will be the question. Then onward to attract the few remaining independent voters.

Thank you Frank!

The person I asked was unable or unwilling to respond to any of the qualifying questions in the affirmative, so it is good to hear from someone with a dog in the fight. I would go so far as to say that the ONLY thing that would "hurt" J-E-B is that famous last name, and that it would be more of an issue for the opposition than internally.

Do you agree, as i do, with Erickson's contention that;

"So maybe we ought to all find someone who we all kind of like instead of heading to Tampa in August all licking wounds and pretending to rally to the man the voters chose between the evils of two real lessers."?

Do you agree, as i do, with Erickson's contention that;

"So maybe we ought to all find someone who we all kind of like instead of heading to Tampa in August all licking wounds and pretending to rally to the man the voters chose between the evils of two real lessers."?

Yeah...I kinda want a do over with some better choices. I am not thrilled with either candidate. Even in the face of a poor economy, which should ordinarily spell doom for the incumbent, I don't know how electable either of the current choices are going to be. I lean towards Romney, but it's not like I'm excited about it.

I lean towards Romney, but it's not like I'm excited about it.

Frank-

That makes you a "typical" Romney supporter, eh? That is the crux of the problem with his candidacy..

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Could this be Newton's next commercial?;

Nancy Reagan In 1995: "Ronnie Turned That Torch Over To Newt"

"They believed that government should simply get out of the way. Ronnie and Barry fought for those principles, which, today, have been overwhelmingly embraced," Reagan said. "So they must have done something right. Just take a look at the extraordinary men and women who make up the 104th Congress and of course its distinguished speaker, Newt Gingrich. The dramatic movement of 1995 is an outgrowth of a much earlier crusade that goes back half a century. Barry Goldwater handed the torch to Ronnie, and, in turn, Ronnie turned that torch over to Newt and the Republican members of Congress to keep that dream alive."

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2012/01/26/nancy_reagan_in_1995_ronnie_turned_that_torch_over_to_newt.html

Wow, dangerfield, you could be giving Newt's campaign an idea there! Romney folks won't be pleased if that tidbit gets out! Very interesting.

BTW, chair has arrived. Things move fast when you buy American and semi-local (it was in-state).

Phine-

Let's hear it for "Made in the USA"!

Well, if you like that...

Nancy Reagan 1995: Ronnie turned that torch over to Newt

There is something truly obscene about the full blown assault on Newt Gingrich’s strong Reagan conservative history from and on behalf of Mitt Romney, who unabashedly ran away from the Reagan legacy and conservative principles in his 1994 Senate campaign and 2002 gubernatorial campaign. Truly obscene.

http://legalinsurrection.com/2012/01/nancy-reagan-1995-ronnie-turned-that-torch-over-to-newt/

Willard “Mitt” Romney is now lashing out at Newt Gingrich because of the Georgian’s long history as a Reaganite, making the preposterous argument that Gingrich was not present during one of the most important eras in American history.

The question is how would Romney know? When given the opportunity to talk about his conservative credentials in his run for Senate in 1994 he denied Reagan saying "I was an independent during the time of Reagan-Bush. I'm not trying to return to Reagan-Bush."

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/red/sfl-reagan-romney-gingrich-gingrich-a-lot-more-like-reagan-than-romney-20120125,0,7499761,full.story

Read the comments to Jennifer Rubin's umpteenth hit piece on Newton, and you get an insight no pollster can equal...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/post/gingrich-has-repeatedly-sold-out-the-right/2012/01/25/gIQAVTHoQQ_blog.html

Pizza Man-- You better watch it. I'm sure there are many on this board who are big Castro fans. He's always been mucho popular with the left. Why else would that puta say what he says?

Of course I'm no fan of Castro and his repressive regime---who would be? It does make me smile, though, at the thought of him being ticked off at the Republicans arguing whether he goes to heaven or hell, even though Communists aren't supposed to believe in either. Once again, the writers at Saturday Night Live have someone else doing their work for them.

Steeler Fan-380417

Of course I'm no fan of Castro and his repressive regime---who would be? It does make me smile, though, at the thought of him being ticked off at the Republicans arguing whether he goes to heaven or hell, even though Communists aren't supposed to believe in either. Once again, the writers at Saturday Night Live have someone else doing their work for them.

Imagine it...

Romney ("It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God."~ Mark 10:25)

and Gingrich (“I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”~ Matthew 19:9)

...discussing the afterlife. Preparing to reap what they have sown?

dangerfield,

Read both articles. I do believe we may see a few fireworks in Tampa - inside the convention hall, not outside! The op/ed from Jeb looks like an opening move for a J-E-B candidacy!

It will not be Newt, but it doesn't matter. Romneycare has not a chance of winning. Actually nobody in that camp could beat Obama now.

Starderup,

Off topic but I love your screen name and icon. So funny!

Starderup: Why hasn't anyone asked why there's such vile candidates running? It would appear to me it's on purpose. Obama shouldn't spend one more nickel or even bother to debate these absolute scum-bags.

I couldn't agree more, Houston!

"Among the registered voters, 56 percent said Perry shouldn't run for re-election in 2014. A combined 48 percent of registered voters said Perry's presidential run had made Texas' image either a little worse or a lot worse."

Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Perry-s-approval-rating-in-Texas-sinks-2712840.php#ixzz1kZshwxT2"

Chilled---I'd like to meet the people who think Gov. Perry improved Texas' image!

Ursala: An illusion.

I'm sure printing an additional $100,000,000,000.00 dollars a month in currency is having no effect on anything and you will be fine. See how nice life is in Greece and other countries with massive uncontrolled budgets and debt they can never repay.

The price of gold is not going up by the way,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,the value of the dollar is going DOWN.

When you retire with a million dollars in socialist Amerika,,,,,,,,,,,,,you will not be able to afford a loaf of bread or gallon of milk. But don't let that bother you,,,,I'm sure the chinese will send a food ration for all new party members.

Ursula---no one wants to remember those times but it was close to a panic as investments dropped, jobs were lost, banks were failing, the housing market collapsed---all on Bush's watch. I just can't imagine going back to any of those policies. Sure we would all like the recovery to have been faster but it takes a long time to undo the kind of damage that was done to our economy.

I agree with you, Steeler, but you know the question no one's asking is how the ultra-wealthy fared in the same time period...and yes, Mitt, I mean you! Forget 13.9% income tax rates while I'm paying closer to 20%, did Romney's portfolio collapse like our 401Ks did? Did he feel the same pain?

Ursula: Excellent question "....no one's asking is how the ultra-wealthy fared in the same time period..." that's because you're a pawn in a game that's rigged. A fool and his money are soon parted.....

FedUp: guess you missed the part about actually LOOKING at the 401 k statement for evidence of the recovery. The illusion?? That you hide it under the mattress money managers are the real brains in this country. As you say...a fool and his money....(better keep with your under the mattress plan...)

Ap: To be honest sir, I have none to hide. I live one foot on a banana peal and one next to the curb. Enjoy that belief your 401k portfolio will provide a life worth living.... In addition don't rely on any Social Security to live....... #1 Fact: Most Americans have NO portfolio and are solely relying on Social Security.... Sleep well. Remember markets are contingent on many, many factors. Economic warfare is only the beginning for us all..... Class warfare is just gettin' going.

FedUP: Ok, here's something for you to understand before you go on about banana peels. The vast majority of Americans no longer work in jobs that offer retirement plans. Lots of us understand that and have understood that for a very long time. Now whether you want to wring your hands and say that means you are dependent on social security alone, or whether you get off your whining keister and begin saving, is entirely up to you. Guess you've never heard that it's not what you earn, it's what you save? For working Americans, that 401k IS their savings, it's not a "portfolio" of Romney proportions and it's taxed mightily, which is the whole point to the "fairness" argument. It's their only hope of gaining matching funds from an employer, along with the value of their homes if they can hang on to them. The fact you have just become to understand these things doesn't mean everyone else has just awoken to something called savings, investments, and markets. Class warfare? Where the heck have you been child, and in whose basement have you been living? Welcome to America.

Our children and many now will be shackled in poverty until the end.

This will happen, if the Republicans get complete control.

Job1: It's my belief America has gone too far in the hole..... Doesn't matter which mouthpiece is at the wheel. Obama is the only man in charge and more than likely will win by a landslide. Does that make you feel better?

Messiah will print money for the masses,,,,,,everyone one the GRAVYYYYYYYY TRAINNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!

Your messiah is printing money?? That's quite a church you have there. No wonder you're loving it there on the gravey train. Meanwhile, those of us here on planet earth;, in the good ol' USA, with a President who has brought this country back from fiscal ruin, will continue to work for a living thank you, so you whiners can do whatever it is you do.

AP: tell us what you really mean.... Good luck forgoing your Social Security and child's future. Hope and Change. Barf.

Sorry FedUP: I'm not going to be dependent on social security and knew that decades ago...that's why I've been working and saving my entire life and not waiting for someone to come "save" me from myself (and no I'm not a Republican "everyman for himself". I'm just a realist who is fiscally responsible for an older generaton who did not plan well, and a younger generation who hopefully will learn these lessons far earlier than anyone like you did. No change, no hope? Barf. That never won anything for anyone.

Northstar,

Did the 'vine get any better for you last night? I gave up.

phinephancy: Not like you to give up.... What were you trying to convey?

Phine,

I too gave up after reporting the bug to newsvine.

Hope these threads are better today.

Northstar: thanks for the answer and sorry for butting in.... backing away now.... I thought phine had a point to make....

Fed Up,

It was impossible to try and post anything for a while last night. Lots of bubblegum and spiceweasels running around.

Fed Up & Northstar,

I am preparing for the next time with recipes for weasels in spices with bubblegum for dessert! :)

Sorry, I was curious. I might fit a little of that description.... I am not believing in much of America's politics these days. I am afraid for our country, and I think Bush and Obama have overspent to the point of no return for our children's futures and possibly mine. I am still considered a wee bit young. Thanks phine: I will try my best not to annoy you or anyone in these forums. I get radical when afraid... Mia Culpa.

Fed Up,

I am a pussycat! Bubblegum and Spiceweasel are terms Newsvine uses when there is a problem posting and/or the sight goes down. Gets VERY frustrating! Comment or talk to me any time!

:D) Thanks phine.... Just take my posts with a shot glass... sometimes I have solid point other times it appears I get the tinfoil hat award. thank you.

Odd, but I've never seen the term "Spiceweasel" here. (I have stepped in plenty of bubblegum though, particularly last night when the entire site seemed mired in molasses.)

Fed Up,

Welcome to FR. I am home sick today so i can post on these thread throughout the day.

The global economic crises of 2008 is still being played out around the world. Recovery will be at least a decade in the making.

What I am most afraid of is the inability of Congress to compromise, find common ground. Their dysfunction is the seeds of our government gridlock.

President Obama is willing to cut spending and raise revenue to pass his jobs bills.But the GOP has made pledges to never raise taxes even to fund a jobs bill.

But we all get to vote in November, and therein lies my hope.

Really? You're predicting Bernie Sanders will lose his bid for re-election in Vermont?