It Takes Two To Be Bipartisan

In today's Rude Pundit post, he brought up an NPR report about President Obama's Labor Day speech in Milwaukee and how someone who was interviewed didn't like it because it sounded like a stump speech. Where was the bipartisanship that Obama promised?

Well, obviously this rube hasn't been paying attention. Time and again, President Obama's commitment to be inclusive has been evident, unfortunately to the to the detriment of key pieces of legislation (public option, anyone?) and shown by his approval ratings. But if you dismiss the Republican numbers, because let's face it, they're going to be negative no matter what Obama would do, the President's job approval rating among Democrats remains strong, contrary to the mainstream media's reports.

Let's see how the GOP reacts to this new $50 billion infrastructure proposal. My guess is that it will go the same way the bill supporting tax cuts to small businesses went.

In a display that can best be described as insane, Senate Republicans demanded all week that the chamber act on the small-business-incentives measure, and not waste time with measures like campaign-finance reform. But this morning, when the small-business package was ready to move, Republicans balked.

To hear them tell it, GOP senators aren't against helping small businesses -- at least not explicitly -- but they're filibustering to get more time for more votes on more amendments to the bill.

In other words, Republicans have gone from complaining about the bill not coming up sooner to trying to drag out the process out.

For all the cries, whether positive or negative, about promises of bipartisanship, the fact of the matter is that it takes two parties to be bipartisan.

President Obama's Labor Day Speech

Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The Fight for America’s Workers



Transcript here.

Quote of the Day

...we only have to fix Social Security once.

The size of that fix is significant, but not astonishing. Over the next 75 years, the shortfall will be equal to about 0.7 percent of gross domestic product. How much is 0.7 percent of GDP? To put that in perspective, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities calculates that it's about as much as George W. Bush's tax cuts for the rich will cost over the same period. Saying we can afford those cuts -- which is the consensus Republican position -- but not Social Security's outlay is nonsensical. Coming up with 0.7 percent of GDP isn't a crisis. It's a question of priorities.

~Ezra Klein

American Taliban

Every civilzation, society or people have terrorists. And news flash: you don't have to wear a turban or have dark skin to be a terrorist.

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Madera's Planned Parenthood clinic is closed Thursday after someone firebombed it with a Molotov cocktail. The FBI is investigating this case as it continues to search for clues in an attack on a mosque last week on the other side of town.

Can the fundamentalist Christians that were obviously involved in the latest terrorist attack against a Planned Parenthood clinic because of their religious ideological beliefs be called terrorists now? How are they different than any other terrorist? It's time we start calling out these "Christians" for what there are, because blowing up a clinic in retaliation for a completely legal medical procedure that doesn't jibe with their religious ideology isn't the Christian thing to do. It's terrorism. And they may as well be categorized as the American Taliban.

(H/T Oliver Willis)

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Yashwanth Manjunath: Former Republican Rep. Bob McEwen Says Social Security Bankrupt; You Paid In, You’re Outta Luck

Eugene Robinson: The Spoiled-Brat American Electorate

The Rude Pundit: Why Glenn Beck Ought to Be Repeatedly Cock-Punched (National Archives Edition)

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President Obama's Weekly Address - September 4, 2010

Brewer Done With Debates

...because really, why bother stating your position in a clear, cohesive way in front of your constituents when running for public office when you can just avoid being called to task for anything asinine you may say?

"I don't believe that things come out in proper context in an adversarial atmosphere," she defended herself.

You're right, Jan. That adversarial opening statement in which you lost your head and basically said, "DUUUUUHHHH...." for about 10 straight seconds was totally out of context.

My question is: will being a cowardly hack hurt Brewer or are her followers idiotic enough to think that she's not being treated fairly?  Maybe Sarah Palin will tweet that Brewer's 1st Amendment rights are being infringed upon.

Tweet of the Day

H/T @ceut

S#*! Sarah Palin Says (Vanity Fair Rebuttal Edition)

Well all I can say is, WOW! Less than 24 hours after a suggestion of making "Shit Sarah Palin Says" a recurring theme, comes the Mama Grizzly's latest statement in response to the Vanity Fair article that was less than kind:

"Those who are impotent and limp and gutless and they go on their anonymous -- sources that are anonymous -- and impotent, limp and gutless reporters take anonymous sources and cite them as being factual references," Palin continued. "It just slays me because it's so absolutely clear what the state of yellow journalism is today that they would take these anonymous sources as fact."

Erectile dysfunction jokes! Way to go, Sarah. I suppose we should ask the First Dude about being emasculated by the North Star.

I wonder what Michael Joseph Gross thinks about Sarah now, considering that in his appearance on MSNBC's Morning Joe today, he not only admitted that he had left the "worst stuff" out of his piece, but his original intention was to write an article favorable to Sarah Palin because he felt she'd gotten a bum ride.

"I couldn't believe these stories either when I first heard them, and I started this story with a prejudice in her favor... I started this with every good intention toward her," [Gross] said. "I was just shocked and appalled at every step at what I found. And I wrote this story sort of against my will. It wasn't what I wanted to write, it wasn't what I wanted to find. It was what was forced on me by the facts."

I guess a wink to the camera just isn't enough anymore.

(H/T Bob Cesca)

Brewer Blanks

Ever hear the phrase, "It's hideous, but I can't look away"? Well, welcome to Jan Brewer's opening statement in her first debate in the run for Governor of Arizona.



Torturous to watch... karma is a bitch.

But it only gets better. Well, better for us, worse for Brewer.

...after a reporter asked her why she wouldn't recant some insane claims she'd previously made about "beheadings in the desert," Brewer responded by pretending the question wasn't even asked. Then, as every single reporter in the room piled on, she opted to flee, back the way she'd come.

This is what I foresee happening with every Tea Party candidate who is not ready for prime time. And Sarah Palin as well if she chooses to run in 2012.  There's no way she can get away with, "I may not answer the questions you want me to" next time around.

(Via Jason Linkins)

S#*! Sarah Palin Says

After reading a few @SarahPalinUSA tweets (yes, I know it's a bit masochistic) I thought I might make "Shit Sarah Palin Says" a recurring theme.  Hell, I could run a completely different blog on her ridiculous tweets alone.  But I think I'll just save the good ones to ridicule for an occasional laugh.

My apologies to William Shatner.








Huh... yellow journalism. Do you suppose Sarah is talking about all the pundits in the "lamestream" media appalled that President Obama didn't give enough credit to former President Bush's surge? Or is she speaking about Fox News and their constant "Ground Zero Mosque" bashing?  It makes you wonder what's up? What's the threat?

Credit Where Credit Is Due

Bush deserves credit for the "victory." Whatever victory may mean in Senator McMaverick's mind.

And so began the latest barrage of anti-Obama rhetoric from the GOP crowd. House Minority Leader John Boehner jumped into the act as well in a prebuttal to President Obama's address to the nation from the Oval Office yesterday regarding the end of combat operations in Iraq.

“Some leaders who opposed, criticized and fought tooth and nail to stop the surge strategy now proudly claim credit for the results,” Boehner will say in remarks prepared for delivery to the American Legion’s 92nd national convention in Milwaukee. “Today we mark not the defeat those voices anticipated — but progress.”

At least Boehner was sober enough to omit the word "win" or "victory" because, really, what did we win?

But hey, if these people want credit, sure, I'll give them credit for the surge working. Who knows if the Sunni Awakening was just convenient timing when the surge took place... well, the Pentagon did pay them to fight Al-Qaeda, but still...

And let's see, why were we in Iraq in the first place? Oh, right, because of a ginned up excuse to retaliate for 9/11, something Iraq had nothing to do with, no matter how much George W. Bush and Dick Cheney lied about it and said the opposite. But then it was about removing that evil dictator Saddam Hussein and stopping him from using weapons of mass destruction that to this day haven't been found. And then when that excuse failed, it was to bring democracy to the Middle East.

But sure, we'll give Bush all the credit in the world for a last ditch effort and getting the surge right after fucking up the first 6½ years of the "war on terror."  We're saving Muslims there to discriminate against them here.  Great job, Republicans.

....Congratulations.

Let's take a look at some of those highlights from BushCo.

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