Can the Republican Party be Saved?

Any Republican saying the party is NOT in trouble has a reading comprehension problem IMHO.  Over the last six years, state parties are gradually being taken over by the hard right 'radicals' to use Sen Hatch's word.

In my own state of Oklahoma, there was a fight at the OK GOP State Convention in May where a punch was thrown along with chairs and paper, delegations were shut off from voting, and the Convention adjourned before it was complete.  Made the national news.  Imagine being in the delegation the Convention is discussing to make a decision that affects the delegation, but then having the curtain drawn to separate you from the main Convention so you are allowed to vote  The hard right has taken over the OK GOP from all accounts.  If you want proof look no further that the OK GOP website where the Chair of OK GOP has this picture on the site:

In checking into the background of today's Minuteman, I discovered

The Minuteman Project is an activist organization started in April 2005 by a group of private individuals in the United States to monitor the United States – Mexico border's flow of illegal immigrants. Co-founded by Jim Gilchrist, the name derives from the Minutemen, militiamen who fought in the American Revolution. The Minuteman Project describes itself as "a citizens' Neighborhood Watch on our border", and has attracted media attention to illegal immigration.

The project (Minuteman)  has generated controversy, drawing criticism from former Mexican President Vicente Fox and former United States President George W. Bush, who expressed dislike for "vigilante" border projects.  In the 1960's the Minuteman along with the John Birchers were the biggest anti-John F Kennedy groups operating openly with rallies against him.  Both groups were investigated in the 60's by the FBI.

Militia and Minuteman in the 18th century were  two separate groups but today many people use them  interchangeably.  Still haven't figured out why we need a militia today when we have the National Guard.  The ones in the Texas Hill Country frankly frighten me reminding me of neo-Nazi's as I have witnessed how they goosestep march:

Although the terms militia and minutemen are sometimes used interchangeably today, in the 18th century there was a decided difference between the two. Militia were men in arms formed to protect their towns from foreign invasion and ravages of war. Minutemen were a small hand-picked elite force which were required to be highly mobile and able to assemble quickly. Minutemen were selected from militia muster rolls by their commanding officers. Typically 25 years of age or younger, they were chosen for their enthusiasm, reliability, and physical strength. Usually about one quarter of the militia served as Minutemen, performing additional duties as such. The Minutemen were the first armed militia to arrive or await a battle.

Last I checked, Oklahoma was not a border state which brings into question why have the Minuteman symbol on your website.  Do they honestly think the Federal Government is going to try and take over the State?  What minority in their right mind would want to be a member of a major political party whose symbol has become the Minuteman?

When I first moved to Oklahoma, I used to tell friends from other states that they would not believe this GOP as it was unlike any other.  Then I decided to get involved after the 2000 national election thinking I could make a difference and along with others who had recently moved to Oklahoma bring some common sense to the GOP.  We were wrong.  After  I became totally involved, it dawned on me the radical right was gradually taking over the party and nothing anyone could do because the State Party had sold out to the religious right and social conservatives leaving those with common sense out in the cold.    It was not worth getting upset after sitting through two State Conventions where it was all about fighting with the hard right and accomplishing very little.  When the former Chair resigned to run for statewide office, any hope of common sense returning had gone out the window.

Found this article from Senator Hatch on Utah while researching for this article and discovered the 'radical' right movement has spread:

Orrin Hatch: ‘Radicals’ Could Overtake Utah GOP

David Taintor,  8:53 AM EST, Wednesday January 9, 2013 

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) told the Deseret News that "radicals" who don't share Republican Party values could overtake the state GOP.  

“Thank goodness they’re not the majority,” Hatch said in an interview, published Wednesday. “But we’ve got to watch that or we’ll end up with a state dominated by radicals.” 

Hatch voted in favor of the fiscal cliff deal, but he told the paper he understands why some of his Utah colleagues did not. “Those who voted against it did so to protect themselves, I guess, from some of these radical outside groups," he said. “I don’t find any fault with the delegation because we’ve got a special climate out there that is very difficult.”

We have a United States Senator discussing the climate in Utah for any member of the House going against what the 'radical' groups want as 'difficult.'  How many other states have the same problem?  Has the Republican Party allowed the John Birchers, Minuteman, Militia, hard right social and religious conservatives, along with anti-government types to take over?  Is that why some House Members who we thought had some common sense are now acting like people we don't know?  Are they afraid to lose their seats and be replaced by this radical right group which would make it worse?  These are questions that need answers.  Senator Hatch spoke out but will others?

Yesterday on Twitter, I found a link to the Republican Main Street Partnership naming former US Rep Steve LaTourette (R-OH) who just retired from the House to lead their group.  At the same time they dropped "Republican" from their name which speaks volumes.  Rep LaTourette called the Grover Norquist Tax Pledge "Crap" last fall which made me laugh.  He represented the people of his District well along with the State of Ohio -- would have loved to see some group tell him how to vote as that would have been worth the price of tickets.  The sad part is that Rep LaTourette is just the type of Republican we needed to keep in the Congress who brought some common sense to the House.  Maybe he can do more as President of this group to bring common sense back to the GOP.  His first statement as the new President of Main Street Partnership (MSP) (formely Republican MSP) is a great start (my bold in the article):

Former U.S. Rep Steve LaTourette (R-OH) Statement on the New Main Street Partnership 

January 8, 2013 By RMSP

(Washington, D.C.) – “Earlier today, the Board of Directors voted in favor of changing the name we do business under to simply the ‘Main Street Partnership.’ 

“While we have changed our name, we have not changed our values or our mission. We will continue to be a right of center organization and continue to represent the governing wing of the Republican Party. 

“Partisanship has become deeply poisonous to the process in Washington over the last few years.  As someone who just left Congress, I understand this more than most. 

“We at Main Street understand that to begin to turn back this tide and to begin to restore the American people’s faith in Washington we must celebrate – not attack – those on both sides of the aisle who are willing to work together to find solutions to the serious challengers we face as a country. 

“While we remain Republicans, we are committed to reaching out to fair-minded members of the Democratic Party. We understand that bipartisan compromise – by it’s very definition – means working with members of the other party. 

“Compromise doesn’t mean surrendering – it means success.  Compromise is not an act of political cowardice – indeed it is the exact opposite, it is an act of incredible political courage.
“We need more voices in Washington willing to put the best interests of the American people above petty partisanship. That is what we have done at Main Street over the years and that is what we will continue to do. 

“We look forward to working with our centrist Republican members in the months and years ahead and engaging fair-minded independents and Democrats who want to help do what is right for this country.”

This 'Statement' of the MSP is about all Americans not just a select few and should be what governs the RNC which has its head buried in the sand pretending nothing happened on November 6, 2012.  RNC would do well to adopt the same 'Statement' but that would mean telling State parties to rid yourself of 'radicals' which this Koch Brothers Chair doesn't have the nerve or backbone to do IMHO.

The Main Street Partnership is dedicated to promoting and building a pragmatic, thoughtful, fiscally conservative, and inclusive “Governing Majority,” where political debate is encouraged to promote solutions to improve the lives of all Americans. Embracing the full spectrum of center-right ideologies and values in order to build coalitions, the Main Street Partnership is the largest organization of elected leaders who are in the mold of Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan. For more information on the Main Street Partnership, visit our website at www.republicanmainstreet.org.

Yesterday a link to an article about the RNC co-Finance Chair came in my email which led to today's post, Can the Republican Party be Saved.  Decided to include the article to show that not all the RNC are happy with what happened in the 2012 election cycle even though the current Koch Brothers RNC Chair doesn't seem to get it.  Now maybe it will wake him up (not holding my breath) with the RNC Co-Finance Chair, Georgette Mosbacher, hitting the ceiling about the Republican Party.  She speaks for many of us who are furious what we are seeing out of today's Republicans who refuse to acknowledge they got shellacked on November 6, 2012, making all kinds of excuses why they lost.  Mosbacher nails the reasons they lost:

Mosbacher: I’m Furious at My Own Party

by Michelle Cottle Jan 8, 2013 4:45 AM EST 

RNC Finance Committee co-chair Georgette Mosbacher tells Michelle Cottle that she’s “mad as hell” about what Republicans have done to themselves.  

Best not to ask GOP fundraising legend Georgette Mosbacher about the state of her beloved party unless you want an earful. The co-chair of the RNC’s Finance Committee (and CEO of Borghese cosmetics), Mosbacher is “mad as hell” about the myriad ways the “brand has been tarnished”: the sorry state of the presidential primary process, the ongoing alienation of Latino voters, the “outrageous” Senate candidates that the party ran this cycle, the epic failure of the fiscal-cliff negotiations, and, most recently, the House’s dithering over disaster aid for the victims of superstorm Sandy. 

“I’m angry!” fumes Mosbacher. “I’m angry about the stupid mistakes that were self-inflicted.” It’s this last part she finds the most enraging. Though she believes the party has “unfairly” been defined by its recent mistakes, she is very clear about where the ultimate blame lies: “We did it to ourselves.” 

Mosbacher is, of course, not alone in her ire. Postelection, you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting a hastily assembled group of Republican leaders laboring to figure out where the party went wrong last cycle and how to get it back on track. So far, however, Mosbacher is unimpressed by their efforts. 

“I have not seen an honest postmortem assessment yet,” she told me. “I have not seen anything that gives me any comfort right now.” 

This is an unfortunate development for the GOP, because, as Mosbacher explained it to me this weekend: “I’m not writing any checks, and I’m not asking anyone else to write any checks until I hear something that makes sense to me.” 

The root problem, as she sees it: the sorry state of the party’s leadership in Washington.

Read more of the article at The Daily Beast

Will the RNC take Mosbacher's words to heart or will they continue their trek to the hard right.  If the first few days of the new Congress are any indication, they didn't learn one thing from November 6, 2012, and are continuing down the path to destruction of the Republican Party as more and more people question why they are in a Party that is so hard right declaring war on about every group around.  Yet they do not believe in the Government unless it is for their own personal cause as evidenced by Republican House Members who voted for disaster relief aid for their home states in the recent past but not for Hurricane Sandy victims from NY/NJ.  Guess you could say they don't want to help people from blue states but a lot of Republicans live in those blue states as well who they are treating like chopped liver.

Earlier in December former Utah Governor John Huntsman who was a candidate for President as a Republican gave a scathing interview saying the Republican Party is "devoid of soul" which I happen to agree with as we have seen up close and personal recently with the Hurricane Sandy vote.  Before that it was the jobs bill for veterans, farm bill to help drought victims from last summer, women's issues, veteran's issues, and the list goes on of groups that have been dissed by the Republican Party in favor of the wealthy this last few years since they took control of the House:

Former Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman took a critical look at his own party, asserting that it is “devoid of a soul.” In a lengthy interview with the UK’s Daily Telegraph, Huntsman elaborated on what he viewed as missteps, and offered some advice going forward. 

It’s “troubling” that the party currently doesn’t have a leader or a “defined agenda.” But the good news, he said, is “that will come in time” through the “reformation process.” The GOP must “return the system to the people,” Huntsman argued.

Where is a leader?  No one seems to want to step forward and take control moving the party back to the center right.  Are they that afraid of the Tea Party who only 8% of the Country identify with according to Rasmussen or are they afraid the Koch Brothers and their allies who run the Tea Party and other hard right groups?  Are they are afraid to stand up against the Koch's and other hard right fringe groups demands  which could lead to being primaried and a freeze on donations to their campaigns?  Thought this excerpt below from an article about the 8% was interesting hitting the mark about the Tea Party that many activists have been saying for several years.  We never saw most of these people working campaigns in the past but then they took over and basically told longtime Republicans to hit the road -- they didn't need our help or expertise.

The Koch Brothers front organization, Americans for Prosperity, are doing the dirty work of the Koch's.  Noticed in my state when they would speak at Republican functions, they didn't seem to have a grasp of how Government works but just repeated their talking points.  When you asked a germane question, you would get a blank stare and they would go on to the next question.  In talking to friends around the Country, they had the same reaction.

This excerpt gets it right about the Tea Party IMHO.  Some people have become rich off the scams being perpetrated by today's conservatives.  Ask Bill Kristol what he thinks of the scams by conservative groups.

WHY THE RECEDING POPULARITY OF THE TEA PARTY?  PEOPLE EVENTUALLY WISE UP TO THE FACT THEY ARE BEING PLAYED FOR FOOLS. 

You can attribute much of their dwindling success to the information put out by Move On , Occupy Wall Street. and many of the progressive blogs.  These groups banged heavily away with the facts regarding the true organizers behind the Tea Party and their other affiliated groups and people such as “Americans for Prosperity” and “Freedomworks”–none other than the right-wing fanatical plutocrat Koch Brothers. 

Initially, many of the members of the Tea Party were sincere Americans from the working class who were and still are fed up with business as usual in Washington and the leadership of the Wall Street  investor class.  They fell like easy prey for the propaganda financed by the Koch brothers.  It sounded good and also much of it played on their racist fears that the browns and blacks were getting all the “good” jobs and being given government handouts.  All the Tea Party cries of sending all the illegal immigrants back to Mexico and/or putting them in jail perfectly suited the goals of the plutocrat leaders as such solutions 1) raised hatred and anger of the Tea Party members thus making them easier to manipulate; and 2) meant more money for the instigators in terms of growing the prison population in the USA for the Wall Street corporations who now manage our prisons.  They never drew the line connecting the money going to support these prisoners as coming out of the taxpayers pockets, but Move On and Occupy did–again and again and again.  Eventually people have come to understand what an utter sham the entire Tea Party was and continues to some extent to be. 

Ironically, all the while the Tea Party was on the rise, it was the leaders of this movement who were after the government handouts--in the form of relaxed EPA requirements for their operations (thus more “freedom” to pollute our air and waters with impunity);  more agricultural subsidies for corporate agra-businesses and Park Avenue “farmers”; more tax breaks skewed for the rich; more more more–but all for them, not the majority. 

Gradually, the people came to realize these phonies for who they are.  I suspect that most of the 8 to 12% remaining are the hard core plutocratic right wing millionaires and billionaires such as Donald Trump and Sheldon Adelson.  They were the plants in the audience.  The funny thing now is that they are fast becoming the only ones left to listen to the sound of their own lies and bullshit.

The Koch Brothers and their cronies are the ones destroying the Republican Party of the center right for their own selfish whims IMHO.  They want no EPA or regulations on their business but yet want to keep subsidies on oil and gas and big conglomerate farms which benefit them.  They are more then willing to take handouts when they are the recipient but not when members of the middle class are involved -- we are on our own.  In the small minds of the wealthy GOP donors, the middle class is supposed to give up our benefits from the Government so the wealthy can keep theirs.  In their small world it is every senior citizens for themselves with no safety net even though they paid into social security for years and it is not part of the budget.  It doesn't stop the wealthy donors from wanting to do away with the program as we know it.

The Kochs and other wealthy GOP donors seem to have a warped sense of what it means to be an American IMHO.  The fact they started the Tea Party to take over the Republican Party should scare everyone.  We need two major parties or the Democrats will run amok just like the GOP when they were in charge of all branches of Government.  I have a hunch right now though that if Democrats were in charge of the House, they would do a lot better as it is fresh in their minds how they blew it in 2010.

This says it all about the Koch Bros Tea Party and their agenda they are now forcing on what used to be common sense Republicans in the House:

Tea Party Absolutism: The High Cost Of Hating Government 

January 7th, 2013 5:27 pm 

Nicholas Wapshott 

The tourniquet applied by the outgoing Congress to the economy allows a two-month breather before we are consumed by the next deadline. The president and his party can allow themselves a brief moment of celebration for imposing higher taxes on the richest Americans, but the next stage in fixing the nation’s fiscal problems may not be as easy. By the end of February, lawmakers must find enough cuts in public spending to allow the debt ceiling to be raised. Two more months of uncertainty will prevent businesses and consumers from making spending decisions that would bolster the economic recovery. 

The devil is not so much in the detail of the arguments to come as the big picture that frames the debilitating running debate. 

While the difference between the sides is ostensibly over taxes and public spending and borrowing, the more profound division is over where government should begin and end. For many of the Republican Party’s Tea Party insurgents, the choice is even more fundamental: whether there should be a government at all. Their unbending position, demanding an ever-diminishing role for the federal government, has levied an enormous unnecessary cost on everyone else. 

Since Republicans regained control of the House in the 2010 midterms, when the Tea Party tide was in full force, they have attempted to freeze the size of government, coincidentally putting a brake on economic recovery. They have vetoed attempts at further economic stimulus, encouraged America’s economy to be downgraded by the ratings agencies by threatening not to extend the debt ceiling, and tried to veto any and every tax increase in the fiscal cliff talks. 

Their aim is to shrink government by starving it of funds. Such uncompromising absolutism has led to the dampening of business confidence and investment that would have created jobs. 

It is not just the economy that has suffered from the absolute positions held by the anti-government rump in the GOP. Their insistence that the Founding Fathers intended us to be allowed to carry guns of any sort, including the rapid-fire assault weapon that killed 20 children and six adults in Newtown, CT, last month, continues to hamper attempts to curb the nation’s murderous gun violence. Ghosts from the 18th century are preying on our schoolchildren, abetted by those who believe that compromise on amending our gun laws is surrendering to the forces of big government. Such unbending absolutism costs human lives.

Are the Koch Brothers and their unending quest for power over today's Republican Party payback for President Reagan kicking out the John Birchers who their father helped found?  Would they be that shallow?   Since the John Birchers have been brought back in the Republican Party, I believe they would.  Some on the right call the Tea Party movement the new John Birchers which should give everyone pause.

This excerpted article illustrates the five reasons why America today has a Republican problem which is caused IMO by the Koch's Tea Party and Americans for Prosperity who are out front while the Koch's and other wealthy donors stay behind the scenes pulling strings:

5 reasons why America has a Republican problem 

January 9, 2013  

And as long as the “carried interest” loophole gives millionaire hedge fund managers a massive tax break, we have a revenue problem, too

(snip)  

1. The Republicans’ problem is that the deficit is shrinking too fast. That’s why they want to act now to gut Medicare and Social Security while they have the chance. FACT: The federal deficit has fallen faster over the past three years than it has in any such period since World War II. This fact blows away every Republican talking point because it points out 1) George W. Bush created the trillion dollar deficit that the GOP blames on this president, 2) under President Obama federal spending has grown less than any president since Eisenhower and 3) our recovery, which is much better than most of the world’s, is shrinking the deficit. 

2. President Obama has already signed $2.3 trillion in deficit cuts, 3/4 of it spending cuts.Until the Bush Tax Cuts expired and Republicans were forced to deal with revenue increases, President Obama has cut the Bush deficit entirely with spending cuts. These spending cuts hurt the economy much more than tax increases, especially tax increases on the rich. This seems to be the GOP plan: Keep the deficit crisis going to cut the parts of government we don’t like. And keep saying spending is the problem so you don’t have to cuts ridiculous tax loopholes that give away billions to those who need it least. (my bold)

 

3. We have two long-term problems — long-term unemployment and long-term debt. And only one matters right now.Anyone who tells you that America is like Greece is insulting your intelligence. We have no worries about paying our debt. Republicans have claimed for over 4 years now that borrowing would cause rampant inflation and the world would eventually stop buying our debt. The opposite happened. We will have a serious debt problem in a decade or two as baby boomers retire and live long, expensive lives. And it will be much worse if we don’t deal with our real crisis. 

Our much more serious problem is long-term unemployment. Nearly 5 million Americans have been out of work for over 27 weeks. The longer you’ve been out of a job, the harder it is to find a new one and the less likely it is you’ll ever make up the earning and salary growth you lost. Poorer and middle class Americans will have to work harder and be more dependent on the government. In a sane society, we would be doing everything we could to get these people working, even direct government hiring if necessary. But the future of these Americans is being sacrificed to the Republican agenda. 

4. If our health care costs were in line with costs in other countries, we would be looking at budget surpluses, not deficits.We already pay for each other’s insurance, just in the dumbest possible way. For what we pay for health care we could be covering every American for less if we weren’t forced to deal with the Republican Party’s willingness to prioritize corporations over people. 

5. Fixing the deficit is easy. Just put people back to work.The Bush tax breaks were designed to solve a problem that Republicans had been avoiding for years — a balanced budget. When you have a balanced budget, you can’t cut the programs you don’t like just because you don’t like them. So create a deficit and start cutting! The bulk of our deficit comes from purposely dumb Bush decisions and can easily be rectified by putting people back to work. The fact that we are talking about cutting instead of jobs is a tribute to just how bad our Republican problem really is.

It is sad in my world, when a progressive website makes more sense then conservative ones.  They have the facts not spin/lies of Fox News, Rush, Hannity, Beck, et al who are not giving us the truth.  What do this group of pundits hope to accomplish?  Keep more of their millions while making more off the backs of the middle class?  That is as good of explanation as any because the Fox and talk show rhetoric and lies are so far over the top don't see how anyone can believe them.  Worst part is that they say something on the air and some of today's Republicans go mouth their words.

Beyond disgusting that many of the Republicans in Congress are devoid of common sense today as they are afraid of their own shadows not wanting to be primaried by the likes of the Koch Brothers, Club for Growth, and others who want them to bend to their will or else.  No backbones to stand up and tell the hard right groups to shove it and actually vote for the people of America not worrying about being defeated for reelection.  Many of us would roll up our sleeves to help honest Republican candidates who stand up to the fringe movement get reelected but those Republicans are few and far between as most bow to the Koch Brothers and other wealthy donors.

Can the Republican Party be Saved?  Not until we get some actual leaders with backbones who tell the fringe and hard right to take a hike because it is obvious that the two sides cannot co-exist.  It came out yesterday that Democrats are now the majority of Americans which should shock no one.  Not hard to understand why when lifelong Republicans like me are considering becoming a Democrat.  For now staying to see what happens with the GOP.

One thing is definite -- will not support or work for current Republicans to take back the Senate or keep the House in 2014 as they have not earned that right with their obstructionism which has hurt the economy and the American people.  This group of GOP leaders in Congress has proven they are wimps with no backbones who are  afraid to stand up to wealthy donors and the hard right.  Time for new leadership in 2014 to work across the aisle to get the Country back on track as well as the Republican Party.

Will the Obstructionists House Republicans Keep Saying "NO" Pushing the US Over the Cliff?

Will the Republican House Compromise?

Jury is still out.  Back from vacation and ready to roll up the sleeves -- some things don't change and the GOP House being the Party of "NO" is one of those as witnessed with what we are seeing.  They couldn't even find the votes to pass their own plan last week.  Dysfunctional comes to mind along with a lot of other words to describe this House GOP membership.

As I looked around the net this morning following the President's interview with David Gregory on NBC's Meet the Press, I felt that Sam Stein of Huffington Post did the best job of recapping what happened in the interview about the fiscal cliff.  The abject failure of House Republicans by abdicating their Congressional responsibility for the budget with their stubbornness reminds me of a mule mentality.  As my brother said, someone needs to take a 2"x4" upside their head to get their attention.  

Here is the video of the David Gregory interview with President Obama on Meet the Press uploaded by NBC on You Tube:


Sam Stein's article on President Obama's interview by David Gregory on Meet the Press this morning:

WASHINGTON -- In his first Sunday show interview since his reelection, President Barack Obama admonished congressional Republicans for their unwillingness to compromise over debt-reduction and implored the media to cast aside its pox-on-both-your-houses coverage. 

With the deadline to negotiations over the so-called fiscal cliff looming in the backdrop, the president took to "Meet the Press" to defend his efforts to try and find common ground. He noted that he had moved off his initial demands for revenue (once $1.6 trillion, now $1.2 trillion), agreed to entitlement reforms (reduced Social Security benefits) and already passed hefty spending cuts ($1 trillion as part of the Budget Control Act in 2011). And for that, he added, he was still waiting for Republicans to get closer to half-way.

“We have been talking to the Republicans ever since the election was over. They have had trouble saying yes to a number of repeated offers,” said the president, according to an advance transcript of the interview. He would add, later: “[S]o far, at least, Congress has not been able to get this stuff done. Not because Democrats in Congress don't want to go ahead and cooperate, but because I think it's been very hard for Speaker Boehner and Republican Leader McConnell to accept the fact that taxes on the wealthiest Americans should go up a little bit, as part of an overall deficit reduction package.”

The president's tone was tougher than usual. In the past, he’s been hesitant to directly rebuke congressional Republicans, choosing instead to attack the legislative body as a whole. 

But the last few weeks of negotiations have clearly frustrated both him and his staff. White House aides were particularly piqued at Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) for shelving negotiations over a larger fiscal cliff deal in pursuit of a tax-rate-only option. That ended the legislative progress in the House and forced the Senate to pick up talks. With just days before tax rates rise on all income rates and $1 trillion in decade-long spending cuts go into effect, Senate leaders met on Saturday to find a way through the impasse. One knowledgeable aide said a deal didn’t look likely as of Saturday afternoon. A Republican aide said it would be impossible to know for sure until Sunday afternoon when Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) brief their respective caucuses. 

Even as they talked, preparations were being made to manage the public relations fallout over the impending failure to meet the deadline. Part of that involved the president hitting the Sunday talk show circuit, where he urged the press to not resort to false equivalencies when assigning blame. 

And to try to work with everybody involved to make sure that we've got an economy grows. Make sure that it works for everybody. Make sure that we're keeping the country safe. And does the Democratic party still have some knee jerk ideological positions and are there some folks in the Democratic party who sometimes aren't reasonable? Of course. That's true of every political party. 

But generally if you look at how I've tried to govern over the last four years and how I'll continue to try to govern, I'm not driven by some ideological agenda. I am a pretty practical guy. And I just want to make sure that things work. And one of the nice things about never having another election again, I will never campaign again, is I think you can rest assured that all I care about is making sure that I leave behind an America that is stronger, more prosperous, more stable, more secure than it was when I came into office.

The only thing I would caution against, David, is I think this notion of, "Well, both sides are just kind of unwilling to cooperate." And that's just not true. I mean if you look at the facts, what you have is a situation here where the Democratic party, warts and all, and certainly me, warts and all, have consistently done our best to try to put country first.

When the President admonished the media for saying both sides were unwilling to cooperate, he was right.  There is one party to blame for this whole debacle and that blame rests squarely on the shoulders of the Republican Party in Congress or as some have tabbed them, "Party of NO!"   That is an apt description of a  GOP who refuses to acknowledge the results of the election in November or understands the American people have spoken on what they want which is tax hikes on the wealthy.  While the GOP continues to throw the middle class under the bus, they play up to their big donors, Tea Party, and lobbyists.

Despicable group of 'non-leaders; in the GOP House who seem to be scared of their own shadows so they placate the hard right.  GOP only maintained control of the House because of some of the most corrupt gerrymandering that anyone has ever seen.  If you add up the votes for House races, the Democrats actually had over 1 million more votes but because of the underhandedness and lack of ethics of GOP State Legislatures in drawing redistricting lines like in PA, they kept control.   The GOP has a real problem in 2014 when Republicans like me decide to throw in with the Democrats to defeat GOP incumbents and candidates as we have had it with their arrogance and attacks on Obama and minorities bordering on racism, plus their war on the middle class, women, veterans, teachers, police, fire, and civil service for starters.

Most do-nothing Congress ever in modern times in the last two years since the GOP took over the House.  Our Country would be much in much better shape and Americans even more back on our feet if not for the Republican Party in Congress where in the Senate they have filibustered bills before they even hit the floor for a vote.  They are nothing but obstructionist who have a penchant for lying to the American people about this President and the Democrats in order to make themselves look good.  Note to GOP -- American people are waking up and not liking what they are seeing out of the GOP.   Will the GOP be blamed for putting us through this nonsense to keep tax cuts for the wealthy -- you betcha!

Republicans in Congress have not gotten that through their "pea size" brains based on their words and actions that they work for all their constituents not just the wealthy Republicans, Tea Party, and social issue types.  The rest of us should be heard as well as we also have votes.

With that in mind, I sat down last night and wrote my Congressman Tom Cole (R-OK) which is probably a waste of time but since he has been speaking out for the GOP with trying to blame both sides, I decided to let you see what I had to say.  I will be happy to post his response when I get it but not holding my breath because I said what I thought:

Having supported Republicans my whole adult life, find myself in the position of being thoroughly disgusted with the HOUSE GOP obstructionists with zero backbone.  Putting wealthy donors over the middle class of this Country is beyond disgusting.  The lies that come out of the House members continually make a lot of long-time Republicans want to scream.  The war on women has not stopped as witnessed with holding hearings concerning women's issues and not having women testify.  It is more of the white male dominated GOP House modus operandi.

When you take off the blinders and realize we have been lied to by the GOP over the last four years, you get madder.  Do the research and you discover that the gerrymandering to keep the House GOP was most likely the worst ever.  Hope Republicans in the House are all proud of of what you have become where wealthy are put over the middle class.

A lot of long time Republicans are embarrassed at what we see out of the GOP today.  The filibusters in the Senate are a bad joke and the Republicans have made a mockery out of governing in the House.

Don't know if I will ever vote for a Republican in the near future but do know that I met a lot of honest people who want what is best for America when I joined Republicans for Obama.  Pretty bad when you trust Democrats to look out for your well being more then Republicans.

Too many House GOP seem to agree with the 47% remark and it has not gone unnoticed.  Some of the comments coming out of the GOP and Preibus wanting to remain Chair show nothing was learned from the election -- not one thing as obstruction continues to the point of telling the Senate to act as the House won't on the cliff.  Way to go -- abdicate Constitutional responsibilities now.

The Tea Party can shove it in my book along with the wealthy donors.  You want an inclusive GOP, you may (not) be getting it.  Not one member of my family voted for Romney.  Now most are considering leaving the GOP entirely which my youngest daughter has already done in Colorado.

GOP in the House needs to take their blinders off and stand up to the Tea Party or see the GOP relegated to the scrap heap.  Seems being reelected trumps what is best for the American people.

Am I disgusted?  You can take that to the bank!

To put this into more perspective, when Cong Cole ran for the first time in 2002, I spent hours not only in his office but in my home working for his election.  Some people here think he broke from leadership but if they really believe that I have swampland for sale in Arizona.  It is plan to make some in the GOP seem more reasonable if I was a betting person.  Cole has been a consultant for years and will try to play the odds IMHO which is why the Speaker and other leadership sent the Whip Cole out to talk to the media.   

Not sure the GOP in the House or Senate could lead if their lives depended on it as they have one word in their vocabulary which is "NO" to tax hikes on the wealthy.  They will gladly see tax hikes go up for everyone to preserve their 'we didn't vote for tax cuts on the wealthy' mantra.  It seems to this bystander they (GOP) are adverse to anything that President Obama offers preferring to trash him at every turn with their lies and innuendos.   

Today's GOP in the Congress in both Houses does not come to the table as honest brokers IMHO but to see what they can pull over on Obama and the Democrats to make sure only GOP ideas see the light of day.  They have totally missed the significance of the results of the November election where President Obama received 53% of the vote and Romney ironically received 47%.  You couldn't make that up -- poetic justice has been served.   The GOP lost big time including in the Senate where they only had ten seats to defend and the Democrats 23 seats and yet the GOP lost two of those ten seats.  The American people spoke and told the Republicans including in the House where 1 million more voted for Democrats that they wanted both parties to work together.  Obviously the GOP did not get the message.  Now the House GOP won't even do their Constitutional duty to be the home of the budget.  Do you want to know why?

Ever heard of the 'Hastert Rule?'  I didn't until recently -- talk about an idiotic and stupid rule out of the GOP Conference -- this one takes the cake -- guess it is their version of filibuster:

The majority of the majority is a governing principle (not a legal procedure) used by Republican Speakers of the House of Representatives since the mid-1990's to effectively limit the power of the minority party to bring bills up for a vote on the floor of the house.^[1 Under the majority of the majority doctrine the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives will not allow a vote on a bill to take place unless the majority of the majority party supports the bill.^[2] This is sometimes referred to as the “Hastert Rule”,^[3] as its introduction is widely credited to former Speaker Dennis Hastert (1999-2007); however, Newt Gingrich, who directly preceded Hastert as Speaker (1995-1999), followed the same rule.^[4] Hastert was vocal in his support of the rule stating that his job was "to please the majority of the majority."^[5]

In practical terms this keeps the minority party from passing bills with the assistance of a small number of members of the majority party. It takes 218 votes to pass a bill. Even when there are 218 votes to pass a bill, the rule prevents votes from taking place when those 218 votes do not include the majority of the majority party. If the Democrats are the minority party and the Republicans are the majority party, under the majority of the majority rule it would not be possible for 170 Democrats and 50 Republicans together to pass a bill, because 50 Republicans votes is far short of a majority of the majority party, so the Speaker would not allow a vote to take place.^[6] As an example, if the Republican Party is the majority party and has 234 seats in Congress, it would take 118 (117+1) Republican votes in support of legislation before a vote could take place. With less than 118 Republican votes the legislation would be blocked, even if 218 or more votes could be found between the two parties. 

A discharge petition signed by 218 members (or more) from any party is the only way to force consideration of a bill or resolution that does not have support of a majority of the majority. However, discharge petitions are rarely successful, as a member of the majority party defying their party's leadership by signing a discharge petition can expect retribution from the leadership.

Thought the comments of the last three Speaker's were telling:

Dennis Hastert (Speaker from 1999 - 2007): "On occasion, a particular issue might excite a majority made up mostly of the minority. Campaign finance is a particularly good example of this phenomenon. [But] the job of speaker is not to expedite legislation that runs counter to the wishes of the majority of his majority."^[5] 

Nancy Pelosi (2007 - 2011): "I have to take into consideration something broader than the majority of the majority in the Democratic Caucus."^[7] 

John Boehner (2011 -): "I’m not interested in passing something with mostly Democrat votes."^[8]

Out of three Speakers only the Democrat Speaker Pelosi believes as Speaker she should represent everyone not just Democrats so she did not adhere to the so-called 'Hastert Rule' which Republican Speakers try to follow 100%.  If Boehner strays from the rule, Hastert is there to take him on for ignoring the 'Hastert' Rule.

That is no way to govern the people's House of Representatives where the members are the House are elected and sent to DC to work for us the American people not the Republican Party.

The wealthy donors led by the Koch Brothers, Tea Party, and Social Conservatives are all totally opposed to anything the President offers and refuse to even consider compromise as they adhere to their 'my way or no way' rule which is destroying the very foundation of the Republican Party.  When President Eisenhower integrated schools, it was the Democrats who opposed him.  Today, it would be Republicans because that white, southern male racist mentality exists in a lot of today's Republican elected officials.  They will toss a bone to a minority or woman but that is about it.  It is a white male dominated party who have the respect of a gnat for women and their issues.  Truly believe that if Hillary had been elected, she would have had the same problem as President Obama as some in the GOP consider women the lowest of the minorities.

Fox News has been the willing participant to trash this President and outright lie about him as we have been witnessing.  Ethics in Journalism doesn't seem to apply to Fox News as well as some others.  They wouldn't know what ethics was if it hit them in the face.  Many members of the media along with the Republicans in the Congress and in the States will say and do anything to make this President look bad whether true or not  the expense of the American people and the Country.

As a lifelong Republican I find this whole group of Republicans in the Congress beyond disgusting and frankly reprehensible that they put the Party over what is good for the Country because they want big donors, lobbyists, and hard right Tea Party on their side as they are afraid to be primaried and lose their job.  They have the backbone of a wet noodle.  Do they not understand that a lot of us would roll up our sleeves and open our checkbooks if they would just stand up and say no to the hard right taking the party back to center right where common sense prevails?  A good start would be kicking out the Koch Brothers with the libertarian/John Birchers in toe, the Tea Party obstructionists who only know the word 'no' along the 2nd amendment militia types for starters but chances of that happening are zero, zip, nada as the GOP stays hard right IMHO.

If the Republican Party refuses to get some common sense, they will be relegated to the trash heap of history which will show they went too far hard right to where they could not govern.  America is a diverse country but this bunch of Republicans cannot seem to grasp that very idea as they pander to the wealthy and the hard right.

Any Democrat wants help in a Congressional race in 2014, sign me up.  This bunch of House Republicans needs to see the unemployment line as well as some in the Senate starting with Minority Leader McConnell.  Can you say Ashley Judd?

Can the GOP be rebuilt?  From what I am seeing, I have my doubts as they are doubling down on stupid.  That leaves a viable new party to rise from the ashes.  The GOP did it with the Whigs, but are there leaders out there today willing to put up with the garbage out of the mouths of Fox News talk people, Rush, Hannity, and the big donors like Koch in order to stand up for all Americans?  Are they willing to go out of a limb to provide those of us who are long time Republicans a Party with common sense ideas on how to make America a better place for everyone not just the wealthy and the hard right?  Are they willing to work and compromise with Democrats and Independents in order to make this Country better?  If not, the Republican Party is going to start seeing an exodus after what we are seeing out of our elected officials in Congress.

Must admit that I am shocked that the Republican didn't learn one thing from the election when they were repudiated big time.  Stubborn like a mule does describe this group in of Republicans in the House.

Will the House GOP Allow Tax Cuts to Expire for All Rather then Raise Taxes on the Wealthy?

The lies and misstatements coming out of Republicans today is nothing short of stunning.  They have jumped the shark so many times that most of us have lost count.  Now Boehner and GOP leadership want to hold the debt ceiling hostage again to get their way and cost the taxpayers more money?  

But Boehner’s fundamental misunderstanding of the debt ceiling (or his willingness to publicly lie about what it does) did not stop him from taking it hostage and threatening to use it to impose his version of “fiscal sanity.” Last year’s debt ceiling debacle ultimately will cost taxpayers $18.9 billion due to the elevated interest rates on U.S. debt issued during that period.

It is great to know that there are more then just a few Republicans who understand the House GOP is in the hip pocket of Norquist along with the Koch Brothers and other major donors. It doesn't seem to make them any difference that mainstream Republicans are against their stance.  They may not like the results in 2014 because many of us will not forgive or forget their willingness to go over the cliff so the tax cuts disappear for all including those under $250,000 rather then raise taxes on the wealthy.  Shows that the wealthy mean more to them then the majority of their voters.   Now that the polls have completely turned on them, will they be willing to deal?  Wouldn't bet my house on that happening with this 'stubborn like a mule' mentality out of a group of Republicans in Congress.

According to a new NBC News poll out last night, the public overwhelmingly believes that the election gave President Obama a “mandate” to: 

• 68 percent: cut taxes for working families earning less than $250,000 a year
• 65 percent: reduce the federal deficit by both increasing taxes on the wealthy and reducing federal spending
• 59 percent: eliminate the Bush tax cuts for those with higher incomes over $250,000

The poll also found that a whopping 76 percent of Americans believe that increasing taxes on the wealthy is an “acceptable” part of any deal to avert the fiscal cliff. This is all consistent with other polls out in recent days, including one that found nearly half of Republicans believe the election delivered the president a mandate to raise taxes on the wealthy. Overall, the poll found that by a 2:1 margin Americans believe the president won both a mandate on taxes and to protect Social Security and Medicare benefits. 

It’s also clear that the Republicans’ intransigence is taking its toll on the already-tarnished image of the party and its leaders:

• 53 percent said they would blame Republicans in Congress if we go over the fiscal cliff. Just 27 percent said they would blame the president.

• Just 25 percent approve of Boehner’s handling of the fiscal showdown, compared to 49 percent who disapprove. Meanwhile, 49 percent approve of the president’s handling of the negotiations and his overall approval rating, 53 percent, is the highest since the killing of Osama bin Laden.

• The three least popular politicians and political institutions in the country are: the Republican party, Boehner, and Mitt Romney. By contrast, Obama is the third most popular, trailing only Bill and Hillary Clinton.

And overall, nearly two-thirds of Americans agree that we need to address our fiscal problems using a balanced approach: 

“Leaders in Congress should make compromises to gain consensus on the budget deficit, even if it means Democrats would have to accept targeted spending cuts in Social Security and Medicare and Republicans would have to accept targeted increases in tax rates.” 

BOTTOM LINE: It’s time for Republicans to heed the will of the American people — and many of their own conservative voters — and agree to a balanced approach that includes asking the wealthiest Americans to pay higher tax rates, just like they did during the economic boom we experience under President Clinton.

This is one big reason that the Republicans in Congress act like they won the election.  Why they are afraid of this man is beyond me:

Norquist made the bizarre Wag the Dog prediction on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal:

NORQUIST: We got lots of things Obama claims to be for, and we will make — we, the Republicans in the House and Senate — will make him actually make those spending restraints, in order to get the continuing resolution out [for] a week, two weeks, a month. Obama will be on a very short leash, fiscally speaking, over the next four years. He’s not gonna have any fun at all. He may decide to go blow up small countries he can’t pronounce because it won’t be any fun to be here, because he won’t be able to spend the kind of cash he was hoping to. 

Watch the video: 

It is noteworthy that Norquist says “we” when referring to the Congressional Republicans. This would seem to conflict with his group’s frequent claim that it is a “a non-partisan coalition of taxpayers and taxpayer groups who oppose all tax increases.” And it seems to ignore the 50 Congressional Republicans who have already distanced themselves from his ironclad oath.

Did those 50 really break from Norquist is the question of the day?  Could it be that they are doing so only for public consumption and will vote with leadership against raising taxes on the wealthy?  We should know shortly if those 50 are telling the truth.  I will have to see their votes to raise taxes on the wealthy before I believe they are serious.

House GOP Fiscal Cliff Arrogant Proposal Permanently Extends Tax Cuts for the Wealthy

Just when I think there is a sliver of light that the Republican Party gets the message from the last election, along comes Speaker Boehner and the obstructionist House Republicans.  Their latest proposal is to permanently extend the tax cuts for the wealthy.  Looks like the Koch Brothers, Adelson, TX Swift Boat Bob Perry, the Chamber of Commerce, and other big donors made their calls and the House GOP leadership asked 'How high do you want us to jump?'

These same bunch of arrogant Republicans have the nerve to say that President Obama didn't make a serious offer?  Any offer of his would be more serious then what these bullheaded Republicans are making.  The American people have spoken they want to raise taxes on the wealthy but these Republicans obviously prefer to believe the fringe that they can roll Obama like they did with the last fiscal cliff.  News to the GOP:  Obama learned his lesson unlike you and is up to the fight as he has the vast majority of the American people behind him.

What is it?  Rand Paul says no to tax hikes for the wealthy along with Norquist and the House Republicans say no tax hikes for the wealthy in their offer.  They are either too dumb to understand the vote on November 6th or they are bought and paid for by the Chamber and major donors who are telling them what to say.  My money is on the latter.  Koch Brothers must be having a field day with taking over the GOP controlling the puppets in Congress who seem to have forgotten they are elected by the people to work for us.  Instead they are giving the American people the shaft once again in favor of their wealthy donors.

Anyone who thinks this group of Republicans in the House would honor their pledge for real tax reform closing loopholes just be smoking something.  Only thing they want to do away with is deductions for the middle class along with going after Social Security and Medicare which are not even part of the budget to pay for their not raising taxes on the wealthy.  No one should trust this group of GOP as they have proven they cannot govern because governing takes compromise.

Cannot write what I would really like to say after reading this article from The Huffington Post that confirmed a CNN report.

GOP Fiscal Cliff Proposal Extends Tax Cuts For The Rich Permanently
Posted: 12/12/2012 1:08 pm EST  |  Updated: 12/12/2012 1:12 pm ESTRyan Grim

WASHINGTON -- House Republicans proposed permanently extending all of the Bush-era income tax rates for the wealthy in their "fiscal cliff" offer made to the White House on Tuesday, according to a CNN report and confirmed by The Huffington Post. 

House Speaker John Boehner and his Republican negotiating partners have said they don't believe the White House has made them a serious offer and that President Barack Obama has refused to budge on spending cuts. Tuesday's suggestion that all the Bush tax cuts be extended permanently was a sharp signal to the White House that Republicans don't feel the president is being reasonable. 

In the fiscal cliff negotiations, Obama has been intent on raising tax rates for income above $250,000 and seems to feel he has the leverage to do so. Permanently extending the current rates is thus a nonstarter with the White House. 

Boehner, for his part, has agreed to as much as $800 billion in additional revenue, but only with commensurate spending cuts. 

Sources from both parties closely involved in the talks say that the gulf between the two positions has barely narrowed over the past month. 

House Republicans say that the permanent extension of the tax rates will be made moot by their push to do comprehensive tax reform. "Our goal, as Boehner has made clear repeatedly and publicly, is a framework for comprehensive tax reform (which would make that claim moot)," said an aide to the speaker. 

The Boehner aide also said that tax reform would raise revenue.  Source:  Huffington Post

Time to vote out the GOP obstructionists in the Congress in 2014 so some work can get done for the American people -- all of us not just the wealthy.  Every day I think the Republican Party in Congress cannot go lower and yet they do -- day after day they sink more.

There are some of us who joined Republicans for Obama in 2012.  Now maybe someone will start a website for Republicans for a House Democrat majority in 2014.  Never in my life did I think I would say that but as a voter I am one of those people who believe you get elected by your Party but once you take your oath, you represent all your constituents not just your Party.  Somewhere that is lost on most of today's Congressional Republicans who are nothing more than puppets to their wealthy donors.

Dick Armey's Departure from Freedom Works Turns Nasty

Koch Brothers better watch out!  Will their underhanded tactics during the election catch up with them?

Would have bet there was more to the Dick Armey leaving Freedom Works then what we were first told.  Remember this is the same Dick Armey when during the Clinton Monicagate he had this to say:

As the Los Angeles Times described the scene:

... the jam-packed room burst into raucous laughter as one reporter prefaced a question about the Lewinsky scandal by saying, "If you were in the president's position ..."  Armey didn't miss a beat.  "If I were, I would be looking up from a pool of blood and hearing my wife say, "How do I reload this thing?""

I will never forget his quote and realized that he was an honest person -- you don't find many in DC who will stand on principle.  An example is how he took after James Dobson from Focus on the Family:

Armey also feuded with Focus on the Family leader James Dobson in his later terms in office. Armey wrote, "As Majority Leader, I remember vividly a meeting with the House leadership where Dobson scolded us for having failed to 'deliver' for Christian conservatives, that we owed our majority to him, and that he had the power to take our jobs back. This offended me, and I told him so." Armey states that Focus on the Family targeted him politically after the incident, writing, "Focus on the Family deliberately perpetuates the lie that I am a consultant to the ACLU." Armey has also said that "Dobson and his gang of thieves are real nasty bullies."

Wish Armey had become Speaker as I thought he made an outstanding Majority Leader.  When he took over as head of Freedom Works, it made no sense because Armey isn't the type of guy to take orders from the Koch Brothers.  It finally got to him and the real truth came out.  It is the secrecy of the origins of cash donations to the Freedom Works PAC which he knew nothing about.  I would bet there is a lot more and if I were the Koch Brothers, I might be very concerned that he will spill everything he knows about the operation or actually report how secretive the Koch Brothers operation really is.

Now you can say I have put on my tin foil hat.  Did the Koch's hire Senator Jim DeMint who is not known as the most ethical Senator to use his clout to take on Armney for the Koch's.  Jim DeMint is a liar as we saw when he promised the Republican conference he wouldn't primary incumbents but did just that e.g. Richard Lugar.   If that is the case, I am buying tickets for that match and my money is on Dick Armey.

Mother Jones with David Corn has done an excellent job this election cycle of digging for the facts and finding them.  The election may be over but they are still digging.  Very impressive organization that make sure they have the facts even when stirring the pot.  I can just see the 'cat that swallowed the canary' look on David Corn he gets on TV as he reports on Armey's break with Freedom Works.  Looking forward to seeing more details:

Dick Armey: "This Kind of Secrecy Is Why I Left" FreedomWorks
—By David Corn| Fri Dec. 7, 2012 1:42 PM PST 

The Sunlight Foundation, a group that pushes for more transparent politics and policymaking, on Friday reported that federal records show that two mystery companies in September donated over $12 million to the super PAC of FreedomWorks, the tea party-supporting organization that this week was rocked by the abrupt resignation of its chairman, Dick Armey, the former Republican House majority leader. These contributions accounted for more than half of the $23.2 million the group raised for the 2012 campaign, and they came from two shadowy Knoxville-Tennessee-based firms—Specialty Group, Inc., and Pike Development LLC—that publicly have no reason to exist other than apparently to make contributions and mask the true source of the money. Moreover, Armey tells Mother Jones that he knew nothing about the donations or the origins of the cash and that he quit FreedomWorks partly because of a lack of transparency. 

(snip)

Mother Jones then reached Matt Kibbe, the president of FreedomWorks (whom Armey has accused of misappropriating FreedomWorks resources for his own personal benefit), and asked if it was unusual for the chairman of an outfit to be in the dark about half of the group's funding. "Well, we have 81,000 individual donors," Kibbe replied. Indeed, but only two donations that account for over $12 million. Nothing curious about Armey not being in-the-know? "It's not unusual," Kibbe said. He continued: "I don't know about these [donations]. It's the first time I've heard." 

This seemed even more bizarre. Would Kibbe not know where half of the money for his group's super PAC came from? In fact, in September, Associated Press reported:

A shadowy Tennessee company donated more than $5 million to a prominent conservative super political action committee days after establishing itself…Campaign finance reports filed late Thursday show that the political committee, FreedomWorks for America, received seven donations totaling $5.28 million from Knoxville-based Specialty Group Inc. The money, which accounted for about 90 percent of FreedomWorks for America's donations during the first 15 days of October, is helping pay for TV ads supporting conservative candidates for federal office.

That money helped underwrite a massive $1.5 million television ad buy targeting Democrat Tammy Duckworth who was challenging Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.), a leading tea partier. At the time, a FreedomWorks spokesman declined to comment, and the registered owner of Specialty Group, William S. Rose, stayed mum, as well. (The money didn't help; Duckworth won the race.) 

When asked how he could not be aware of these hefty donations, Kibbe requested that he be sent the Sunlight Foundation article and said, "I'm not supposed to comment before reading."
Armey's bad-blood departure from FreedomWorks—which yielded him an $8 million payout—has created a bigtime dustup. And the group's big secrets may well be in jeopardy.

Source:  David Corn at Mother Jones  

Climate Deniers from CATO to Release Rip-Off Report

Are the Koch Brothers doing to the Libertarian CATO what they are doing to the Republican Party by destroying both when it comes to honesty, integrity, and credibility?  I am not a big global warming supporter but I am also not a total skeptic either.  What I do know is when I see a report on any subject that has been ripped off and a few things added to support one side of an issue it is flat out wrong.  The dishonesty of the Koch Brothers is becoming legendary in the Republican circles from those who took off their blinders but now they are putting out falsified reports with no research -- just change a few words -- to justify their positions.

When are people going to wake up that the Koch Brothers have their best interests at heart not the Country?  Are there no Republicans left with a backbone who will stand up to them?  Seems money from big donors is worth sacrificing honesty and integrity which we are see happening with today's Republican leadership.

This is just another example of what is wrong with today's conservatives by releasing this Rip-Off Report.  Did the people at CATO not think that the USGCRP would recognize their report as being the basis for the rip off?  If they didn't, then they are stupid in addition to be dishonest and too lazy to do their own report.

Climate Deniers To Release Rip-Off Report
—By Kate Sheppard| Tue Oct. 23, 2012 11:36 AM PDT 

Back in June 2009, the US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) released a detailed 188-page report, "Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States," showing how climate change would affect different regions of the country. The USGCRP is at work on its next assessment right now, which is due out in 2013. But this week a climate-change-denying think tank is trying to muddy the water by releasing what it calls an "addendum" to the USGCRP report. 

The Cato Institute, a "free-market" minded think-tank based in DC, plans to release its own "Addendum: Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States" report. In addition to the title, the report's cover looks like the USGCRP report: 

The Daily Climate 

The Daily Climate flagged the fake report on Monday, noting that the addendum "matches the layout and design of the original, published by the U.S. Global Change Research Program: Cover art, 'key message' sections, table of contents are all virtually identical, down to the chapter heads, fonts and footnotes." 

While the real USGCRP report had grim predictions for many regions of the US, the Cato report claims that "observed impacts of climate change have little national significance." A draft version of the Cato report is posted online. It lists noted climate contrarian and Cato senior fellow Pat Michaels as the editor in chief. 

Rick Piltz, who was a senior associate with the USGCRP for ten years before leaving amid Bush-era censorship in 2005, also covered the Cato draft on his blog, Climate Science Watch:

Because of its misleading design and layout throughout, the Cato report can be characterized as a counterfeit, having nothing to do with the USGCRP or the authors of the original report. It was not subjected to the extensive review process that characterized the 2009 report, and its key findings are neither consistent with the original assessment nor with the analysis developed by the great majority of qualified scientists.

UPDATE: Eleven members of the Federal Advisory Committee that wrote the 2009 USGCRP report have released a statement condemning the Cato report as "deceptive and misleading."

At least someone has the nerve to call out the Koch Brothers owned CATO for their report that is "deceptive and misleading" while using the Government's report to change it enough to fit their narrative.  Koch Brothers along with Rove, Fox News, Drudge, and Rush are now running the Republican Party and wonder why some of us have finally had enough of their manipulations to dare go so far as to support Obama.

After the debate when you saw Senators McCain and Portman lying for Romney, you knew this Republican Party had lost its way.  I had an email yesterday from the RNC I sent back with the note about how stupid do you think we are saying Romney won all three debates when he lost the last two.  Honesty and integrity has taken a real hit since the Libertarian wing led by the Koch Brothers has taken over the Republican Party.  This report is just another example of their influence and dishonesty.

Paul Ryan's Anti-Abortion Bill Co-sponsor GOP Senate Candidate Akin (MO): Victims Of ‘Legitimate Rape’ Won’t Become Pregnant

Turns out it is not only Akin but the new Romney Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan who are part of this hard right view on abortion:

Last year, Akin joined with GOP vice presidential candidate Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) as two of the original co-sponsors of the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act,” a bill which, among other things, introduced the country to the bizarre term “forcible rape.”

If not for the public outcry, the term "forcible rape" language would have stayed in the bill:

Although a version of this bill passed the GOP-controlled House, the “forcible rape” language was eventually removed due to widespread public outcry. Paul Ryan, however, believes that the “forcible rape” language does not actually go far enough to force women to carry their rapist’s baby. Ryan believes that abortion should be illegal in all cases except for “cases in which a doctor deems an abortion necessary to save the mother’s life.” So rape survivors are out of luck.

Someone must have gotten to Akin from the Senate Republicans or more likely the Romney campaign as he has now released a statement that he misspoke.  Yeah right and there are pigs flying by my window.  The cat is out of the bag as this is not the first time he has made comments about rape as he was part of a group including Paul Ryan in the House of Representatives last year supporting a bill changing the definition of rape to include only “forcible rape.”

More from Michelle Goldberg who explains who Akin and Ryan would likely target:

Under H.R. 3, only victims of “forcible rape” would qualify for federally funded abortions. Victims of statutory rape—say, a 13-year-old girl impregnated by a 30-year-old man—would be on their own. So would victims of incest if they’re over 18. And while “forcible rape” isn’t defined in the criminal code, the addition of the adjective seems certain to exclude acts of rape that don’t involve overt violence—say, cases where a woman is drugged or has a limited mental capacity. “It’s basically putting more restrictions on what was defined historically as rape,” says Keenan.

Akin is against the morning after pill given to rape victims as he sees it as a form of abortion.  In his mind if they won't become pregnant from a rape, how does he call the morning after pill a form of abortion?

Do people like Akin and Ryan want women who become pregnant from rape and incest to have to go back to the back alley abortions which were done away with when the SCOTUS ruled on Roe v Wade?  More importantly do the Republican men who think like this neanderthal want women to leave the Republican Party in droves because a lot of women including Republican women find his comments reprehensible.  If he had any integrity, he would withdraw from the race.  So this is what the candidates from the Koch Brothers/Romney Tea Party Republican Party look like?  They truly have started a war on women!

Women in MO better think twice about voting for Akin for the US Senate or for the Romney/Ryan ticket since Paul Ryan shares Akin's views.  If he the best the GOP has to offer in the Missouri Senate race then Republicans deserve to lose big for choosing a far right winger to run for Senate who has offended women of America with his remarks.   No amount of saying he misspoke is going to change most women's minds because his original comments are so outrageous.

GOP Senate Candidate: Victims Of ‘Legitimate Rape’ Won’t Become Pregnant

By Zack Beauchamp posted from ThinkProgress Justice on Aug 19, 2012 at 5:40 pm 

Senate Candidate and Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) told a local television station on Sunday that “legitimate rape” rarely produces pregnancy because “the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.” Akin cited conversations with unnamed doctors for the bizarre claim. 

Watch it: 

Akin in coordination with Paul Ryan sponsored legislation that would redefine rape in federal law to limit funding for abortion providers and has a long track record of uninformed and extreme views about women’s health. He has a consistently radical anti-choice voting record in the House, wants to ban the morning after pill, and has expressed concern that criminalizing marital rape gives women “a legal weapon to beat up on the husband” during a divorce.

Akin’s crusade against women’s access to medical services fits with his broader worldview, which is heavily influenced by a particularly virulent group of fundamentalist thinkers described as “Christian supremacists” by the Anti-Defamation League.  

The NY Times shows the same video in their article which has an update from Senator McCaskill:

August 19, 2012, 5:53 pm
Candidate’s Comments on Rape Draw Criticism
By REBECCA BERG 

Comments by Representative Todd Akin, a Republican running to unseat Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri, are drawing condemnation after he asserted that victims of “a legitimate rape” have biological mechanisms to prevent pregnancy. 

“If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down,” Mr. Akin told KTVI-TV of St. Louis in an interview that was broadcast on Sunday. 

The comments drew a sharp rebuke on Sunday from Senator McCaskill, who is in a tough fight against the Republican candidate. 

“It is beyond comprehension that someone can be so ignorant about the emotional and physical trauma brought on by rape,” the senator said in a statement. “The ideas that Todd Akin has expressed about the serious crime of rape and the impact on its victims are offensive.” 

Mr. Akin later released a statement saying he “misspoke.” 

(snip)

Mr. Akin has been a staunch opponent of abortion as a lawmaker and on the campaign trail; he also opposes the morning-after pill, which he considers to be a form of abortion. 

Last year, House Republicans, Mr. Akin among them, supported a bill changing the definition of rape to include only “forcible rape.” 

“This is clearly something that he believes,” an aide to Ms. McCaskill said Sunday.  

Excerpt:  Read More at the NY Times