Category — Politics

The Atlantic has the scoop on Paul’s ads – old and new… but Ron Paul just picked up a huge chunk of TV time in Iowa and New Hampshire.

And the ad is damn good:

ABC News has the story, too.

As I announced previously, I am now a contributor to Andrew Breitbart’s Big Journalism. My first post focuses on Bill Maher’s appearance on CNN’s Piers Morgan Tonight:

Forget about the liberal “new tone” that was touted in the wake of the tragic shooting in Arizona by a crazed political party-less lone wolf. It’s open season for media talking heads, who continue to marginalize conservative women because they embrace a right-of-center form of feminism.

The most recent — and altogether unsurprising — culprit is Bill Maher, who sat down with CNN’s Piers Morgan to spew his misogynistic rhetoric Monday night. Morgan proposed a choice between either Sarah Palin or Michele Bachmann. That part of the interview went something like this:

Morgan: Now, if you had a choice – gun to your head – which one is it? Palin or Bachmann?
Maher: I would need a gun to my head.
Morgan: [Laughter.]
Maher: I hope Sarah Palin gets in, so that they split the MILF vote.
Morgan: [Laughter.]
Maher: But I guess Bachmann… at least she’s somebody who can read. You know, she has a job. She was a lawyer. She’s in Congress. She’s not someone who just sits there and reads the prayers on her BlackBerry like Sarah Palin does. I mean, you know, we’re splitting hairs here.
Morgan: Could Sarah Palin become President? Is it possible in the current climate?
Maher: Absolutely. Absolutely. Yes. People who say this one is a joke or this one is a joke. I remember when I was 12 years old in 1968 and Ronald Reagan was first considering running for President. And I remember what a joke that was. Ronald Reagan? You mean, the “Bedtime for Bonzo” guy?… though, I think he did become President. Yes, absolutely. Because if she could get the nomination and anything can happen… I mean, this Republican Party is not your father’s Republican Party. Somewhere along the line, they got on a short bus to Crazytown… And if someone gets the nomination of one of the two major parties — especially, in a bad economy with a black President… Yea, she could become President.

Ignore the fact that Morgan continues with the mainstream media’s Bachmann v. Palin false dilemma. (Perhaps I’ll save that for another day.)

He kicks off this line of questioning by using violent rhetoric: gun to your head. Where have we heard that recently?

Oh yea! Both Barack Obama and liberal investor Warren Buffet used the violent imagery to argue against Republican attempts to stop an increase to the debt ceiling last week. Buffet went as far as to say Republicans would “blow your brains out” in their quest for fiscal sanity in Washington. If anyone’s holding the American people hostage, it’s those in Washington who want to continue to spend us deeper and deeper into debt.

But nevermind that. Back to Maher’s hatred of conservative women. Piers Morgan didn’t so much as raise an eyebrow as Maher carried out his rant against conservative women. Morgan’s approving laughter is enough to make one shudder.

Just a last week on Maher’s HBO program, he was bested by Ann Coulter, who accused Maher (rightfully so) of being a misogynist. You can see the video here. While Maher flatly rejected the accusation, he then went onto defend his history of dating only supermodels by saying, “They don’t have to be [supermodels], it’s just suggested.”

Certainly, if a conservative pundit demeaned women in the way Bill Maher does, he’d be roundly criticized.

However, why should we be satisfied letting one of our own (Coulter) make the case against Maher’s misogyny? Feminists from my home state — the Tennessee Guerilla Women — have plenty to say about Maher’sunacceptable attitude toward women. (Their documentation of Maher’s offenses goes back to 2007.) It’s unfortunate the mainstream media is complicit in the marginalization of conservative women.

Is this the kind of backwards behavior we can continue to expect from our enlightened progressive friends? Regrettably, the answer is most likely yes.

The irony is dripping off this one. A couple days ago, I wrote about the House Republicans’ effort to repeal the phase out of production of the incandescent light bulb.

I argued – essentially – that Republicans were right to repeal the 2007 law, but they went two steps too far by then federalizing light bulb production. Curiously enough, I was tipped off to the news by this post, which lambasted Tennessee Republicans for co-sponsoring the repeal-plus-federalization.

From the post:

The Republicans are the conservatives right?
The Republicans are the good guys, right?
The Republicans obey the Constitution, right?

HA! That’s what you thought.

On Monday 7/11 the Republicans in Congress will vote to federalize
lightbulbs!
And EVERY Tennessee Republican in Congress is cosponsoring this bill!
Here is a list of all of the cosponsors.

The bill (HR2417) known as The BULBS Act is being sold to the people by saying that it will repeal the coming ban on all incandescent bulbs, but in reality it usurps state and local powers and does an end-run around the 9th and 10th Amendment. You can read the text of the legislation
here.

In effect this bill will say that all regulations and laws about consumer types of lightbulbs will now be handled at the federal level. The 10th AmendmentCLEARLY says: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.”

WHY are the Tennessee Republicans supporting this bill? Why not support the other bill that repeals the incandescent lightbulb ban WITHOUT trampling the Constitution in the process? It already exists, has lots of cosponsors, and is listed here.

Can these elected officials not read the Constitution? Why do they want to federalize all laws about lightbulbs and take power from the states? Why are they expanding the reach and size of the federal government?

Maybe you should contact your Congresscritter and let them know what you think about this and tell them you are NOT going to fall for their deceit and unconstitutional antics.

While the by-line is anonymous (TN Sons of Liberty is hardly a real person), it’s pretty obvious it was written by a Ron Paul supporter.

Well… heh heh heh… The House voted last night at 6:45 on the BULBs Act, and who do we have here…

Both Texas Congressman Ron Paul and his protégé Michigan Congressman Justin Amash voted in favor of federalizing light bulb production and taking the authority out of the hands of the states.

The bill ultimately failed, but it makes me wonder: Why does Ron Paul hate the 10th Amendment and the U.S. Constitution?

Essentially, I’ve employed one of Saul Alinsky’s “Rules” here – Make the enemy live up to his own book of rules.

Ron Paul and his supporters are certainly not enemies, but I’ve put them in an impossible position to defend. Calling the Tennessee Republican delegation out for supporting the bill means calling Ron Paul and Justin Amash out. Hmmm.

Just sayin’…

This hit my inbox just now:

Friend –

We’re filing this campaign’s first financial report with the Federal Election Commission on Friday.

You own this campaign, so you deserve to get this news first.

And thanks to you and other supporters all over the country, there’s a lot of good news to share.

I’m not going to steal my own thunder here in the email — you’ve got to watch the video to get the news about what we’ve raised, how we’re spending it, and what’s next:

The Washington chatter around the report we’re releasing has focused on one number: the sum total we’ve raised.

But other numbers that the pundits often ignore — like how many field offices we and the DNC have open, how many one-on-one conversations we’ve had with potential supporters, and how many people have already decided to own a piece of this campaign — tell the real story of our campaign.

All those numbers are in the video, and they’re the ones you should be proud of today. Watch it now:

http://my.barackobama.com/July-Report

One more thing: It’s a fact that our opponents won’t have hundreds of thousands of people giving whatever they can afford — so they’ll be relying heavily on money from two sources to fund an unprecedented barrage:

1. Washington lobbyists and special interests whose explicit aim is to influence the federal government in any way they can.

2. Outside groups that don’t have to disclose a word about what they’ve raised or who they’ve raised it from, like one of Karl Rove’s political organizations. His groups have set an astounding $120 million fundraising goal in their campaign to tear down President Obama.

The threat to our success from these determined groups — acting solely in their own interest, not the public interest — is real, and it’s growing. And it’s going to take serious commitment and vigilance from all of us to withstand their attacks while still building the grassroots campaign we’ll need to win.

We’re off to a solid start. But this is just the beginning.

So now, back to work.

Thanks,

Messina

Jim Messina
Campaign Manager
Obama for America