GOP senator: McCain betrayed Republican principles

From CNN:

South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint on Friday became one of the first high-profile Republicans to publicly criticize John McCain following his electoral defeat, blaming the Arizona senator for betraying conservative principles in his quest for the White House.

The conservative senator, speaking to a group of GOP officials gathered in Myrtle Beach at a conference on the future of the Republican Party, described how the party had strayed from its own "brand," which, according to DeMint, should represent freedom, religious-based values and limited government.

Oh good Lord, shut up already. We had 8 years of a conservative's wet dream - limited government to the point people drowned in New Orleans, two wars for freedom (neither of which we won, yet), and about as much of a value-based agenda as the American people could stomach. And it sunk our country. No sane person in America thinks that John McCain's problem was that he wasn't conservative enough. America got the conservative dream, and it turned into a nightmare. So spare us the historical revisionism. John McCain lost because he didn't ditch conservatives enough. Read More......

Gay rights supporters protest in 300 cities

Please post your own personal rally stories, updates, experiences in the comments. Andy Towle has posted a SLEW of reader submitted photos of today's rallies over at TowleRoad.

AP:

Gay rights supporters waving rainbow colors marched, chanted and danced in cities coast to coast Saturday to protest the vote that banned gay marriage in California and to urge supporters not to quit the fight for the right to wed.
Crowds gathered near public buildings in cities large and small, including Boston, San Francisco, Chicago and Fargo, to vent their frustrations, celebrate gay relationships and renew calls for change...

Balliett said supporters in 300 cities in the U.S. and other countries were holding marches, and she estimated 1 million people would participate, based on responses at the Web sites her group set up.

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Because nothing says "Christmas" like a burning cross in your front yard

The religious right has REALLY outdone themselves on this one. Reader GH alerted me to the new Christmas Cross the extreme-right gay-hating group American Family Association is selling for Christmas. I pulled up the picture on my phone, showed it to my Jewish friend Matt, and asked him what it was. He says "a burning cross." Nice. (Hat tip to Box Turtle for the post title.)

And if you really want a laugh, read the text describing the cross - it is made for parody. Read More......

Slowly slowly Begich increases his lead over Stevens in Alaska Senate race

From 538. Read More......

Chuck Todd on the possibility of Hillary at State

First Read:

Hillary at State? As we've learned with anything regarding the Clintons, one never knows exactly how serious the speculation might be. But let's assume the news -- reported last night by NBC’s Andrea Mitchell -- that Hillary Clinton is in the mix as a potential Secretary of State is as serious as it appears. (Because if it's not, and her name is being floated only to be rejected, it's going to make her more upset. But we digress…) The best reason for Obama to be looking for a place in his cabinet for Clinton is simple: to get her out of the Senate. Just ask George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Jimmy Carter what it was like to have a once or future presidential rival in the Senate serving as a one-person Roman tribunal. Remember how easily the press gravitated to John McCain in '01 or Bob Kerrey in '93 or Ted Kennedy in '77 to allow them to be one-senator judge/juries on Administration proposals? The upside for Obama putting Clinton at State (or even the Pentagon) is that it gets her out of the Senate and gets her out of the domestic policy debates. Also, one other thing to keep in mind if Clinton does end up at State, she'll be off the political circuit; it’s considered unseemly to practice politics while serving in one of the big cabinet posts, especially at State or Defense. So this would mean no more Hillary on the stump for candidates, no more Hillary raising money, no more Hillary collecting chits. OK, we will now take First Read away from Machiavelli and turn it back over to the current authors.

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Sundance won't pull out of anti-gay cinema

Its one thing for Sundance to argue against canceling their entire festival in January, there are good arguments on both sides, but it's quite another for them to say they're going to continue using the cinema of a man who gave $9,999 to the anti-gay bigots supporting Yes on 8. (And it's not just "a" cinema among many, it's "the" main Sundance cinema.) Your Sundance registration money is quite literally helping to subsidize a donation to Yes on 8.

And a local organizer is coordinating a campaign against Cinemark. Read More......

The good kind of layoffs

Reader MF notes that there are good layoffs. Like when religious right bigots have to do them.

Focus on the Family is planning more layoffs.

In October, Focus on the Family announced it would lay off or reassign 46 employees next year due to the restructuring of its distribution arm.

Understandable. Bigotry doesn't look like nearly as growth a business after November 4. Read More......

NYT: Mormons tipped scale in ban on gay marriage, gave 50% of total bigot budget

The NYT confirms it. Mormons gave half of the total $40m donations that the bigots at Yes on 8 received. (Hat tip, Rex.)

First off, we learn that the Mormon involvement in Prop 8 was unusually large, even for them:

“We’ve spoken out on other issues, we’ve spoken out on abortion, we’ve spoken out on those other kinds of things,” said Michael R. Otterson, the managing director of public affairs for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as the Mormons are formally called, in Salt Lake City. “But we don’t get involved to the degree we did on this.”

The California measure, Proposition 8, was to many Mormons a kind of firewall to be held at all costs.

Then we find out that Mormons were 80% to 90% of early volunteers:

Shortly after receiving the invitation from the San Francisco Archdiocese, the Mormon leadership in Salt Lake City issued a four-paragraph decree to be read to congregations, saying “the formation of families is central to the Creator’s plan,” and urging members to become involved with the cause.

“And they sure did,” Mr. Schubert said.

Jeff Flint, another strategist with Protect Marriage, estimated that Mormons made up 80 percent to 90 percent of the early volunteers who walked door-to-door in election precincts.

One lead Mormon gave $1m:

On Oct. 28, Mr. Ashton, the grandson of the former Mormon president David O. McKay, donated $1 million. Mr. Ashton, who made his fortune as co-founder of the WordPerfect Corporation, said he was following his personal beliefs and the direction of the church....

In the end, Protect Marriage estimates, as much as half of the nearly $40 million raised on behalf of the measure was contributed by Mormons.

And then to finally throw in a slur, the top Mormon donor, and son of a former Mormon leader, refers to us as "fruit":

[T]he extent of the protests has taken many Mormons by surprise. On Friday, the church’s leadership took the unusual step of issuing a statement calling for “respect” and “civility” in the aftermath of the vote.

“Attacks on churches and intimidation of people of faith have no place in civil discourse over controversial issues,” the statement said. “People of faith have a democratic right to express their views in the public square without fear of reprisal.”

Mr. Ashton described the protests by same-sex marriage advocates as off-putting. “I think that shows colors,” Mr. Ashton said. “By their fruit, ye shall know them.”

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Obama's weekly radio address: The video version

As promised, via YouTube, your President-elect:

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Saturday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

Check out some of the week's best editorial cartoons compiled by Bob Geiger. George Bush gets some attention. And, Sarah Palin. That's a dangerous duo, but they give ample material to cartoonists.

The poem of the week is "Looking Around, Believing" by Gary Soto "who reminds us that we can always stop to find the world miraculous."

Great news from Alaska that Begich has widened his lead to 1,022 votes. We'll know for sure by mid-week, but it's looking good:

There are roughly 24,000 votes left to be counted, and the counting will resume, and presumably conclude, early next week, according to the Begich campaign.

Of the remaining votes, roughly 15,000 are in the Anchorage area (a swing area in the race) and another 8,000 are in the Juneau area, which should be Begich territory.

Let's get started...

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White House serves $500 wine for economic crisis meeting

No wonder Bush has been such a blockhead with the economy. This is a person that no matter what, does not get it. There are plenty of fine wines out there for a fraction of the price and when you get into the $500 range, you are often buying for your ego more than anything. There are exceptions but do you really want to prove the rule at such an event? Dumb. Dumb. Dumb. Let the peasants drink boxed wine.

My favorite mayor (Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoë) auctioned off an incredible wine collection that was started years ago when Chirac had been mayor. Michelin restaurants would have loved having such a lavish collection but Delanoë thought it was silly for a mayor's office to buy and maintain such a collection and then the wines are much too precious to serve at official events. Chirac was less than happy with the auction but even in a nation of wine lovers, Delanoë easily won the debate. Read More......

Barney is a serial biter

I grew up with dogs and if we had the space would love having another. (Nasdaq and Sushi may not be quite as keen, but they'd adjust. Maybe.) I'm always cautious about petting strange dogs but shouldn't he have been kept away from strangers knowing his history? This is a dog that should not be allowed in any public places if he's such a nasty biter. Bite once and well, things happen. Twice is a pattern and shouldn't be tolerated. Obviously he's the product of a poor upbringing but we already knew that.

Turns out that when it comes to biting White House visitors, President Bush's dog Barney is a repeat offender.

Boston Celtics public relations director Heather Walker said Friday that Barney bit her wrist and drew blood as she tried to pat the Scottish terrier in September after a White House ceremony honoring the team's 17th NBA championship.

"It was very strange. I didn't expect him to bite me," Walker told The Associated Press.

Last week, Barney bit Reuters reporter Jon Decker's index finger when he reached down to pet the seemingly docile dog. Sally McDonough, a spokeswoman for first lady Laura Bush, said jokingly then of Barney: "I think it was his way of saying he was done with the paparazzi."

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Eurozone officially in recession

Germany made the difference though Spain also declined for the second straight quarter. The bright spot has been France, which expanded in Q3.

The euro zone is in its first ever technical recession after the economy contracted for the second time in a row quarter-on-quarter in the July-September period, an official estimate showed on Friday.

The European Union's statistics office, Eurostat, estimated that the economy of the 15 countries using the euro shrank 0.2 percent in July-September against the previous quarter after contracting by the same amount in April-June.

In Asia, Hong Kong and Singapore are both in recession and others such as Japan are inching closer. Read More......

Rachel on Lieberman

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