Lugar Rips Tea Party GOP After Primary Defeat
Goldberg Book Falsely Claims Pulitzer Noms
Gay Rights Activists Consider Next Steps
TPM Editors’ Blog Opinions, Context & Ideas from TPM Editors
While We Wait
Our timeline of what over the last several weeks brought us to this point on gay marriage.
Behind The Curtain
In about an hour, at 1:30 p.m. ET, President Obama is scheduled to sit down with ABC News for a taped interview during which, “everyone” now seems to think, he will clearly and unequivocally express his support for gay marriage.
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Get It While It Lasts
Here’s our piece about why Obama thinks endorsing gay marriage is terrible politics. Unless he changes his position at 3 PM, in which case it will no longer be relevant.
“Very, Very Unified Front”
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, the newly minted Democratic nominee to face Gov. Scott Walker in next month’s recall election, predicts a “very, very unified front” against the Governor.
And Many Democrats Agree …
GOP Senate nominee Richard Mourdock: “I have a mindset that says bipartisanship ought to consist of Democrats coming to the Republican point of view.”
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In Case You Missed It
Florida white supremacist leader, his wife, and his crew corralled as they were allegedly preparing for a “race war.” Get a load of this gang.
Chart of the Day
How cutting ‘big government’ spiked the unemployment rate way, way higher.
Parting Shot
Dick Lugar lets out what is, for him, a primal scream against the modern day Republican Party.
What Next?
Gay rights advocates tell TPM they will ”look at all legal options and political options to overturn” North Carolina’s Amendment One.
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Just No Fight
TPM Reader BI checks in from on the ground in Indiana …
Maybe surprisingly, there wasn’t a lot of drama around this race on either side. Lugar’s campaign seemed to just be going through the motions. Maybe partly because they haven’t had to run a competitive race since Lugar’s first win in 1976 (their attempt to build a ground game was pitiful), but I also got the feeling that Lugar’s heart wasn’t in the kind of charge he’d have to make to the right to stave off Mourdock.Read More →
Barrett V. Walker
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett wins Wisconsin’s Democratic recall primary. He’ll face Scott Walker (again) next month, June 5th.
Amendment 1 Passes In North Carolina
Big setback for the gay rights movement in North Carolina, where Amendment 1 is now projected to pass, and probably by a landslide.
Amendment One Blowout
It looks like North Carolina Amendment One will pass handily in North Carolina.
Much of metropolitan Wake County is already in, with other urban centers in Durham and Mecklenburg counties to come, but the margins at this point seem pretty insurmountable.
Live results here.
Live Amendment One Results
Follow the live results of the vote on North Carolina’s anti-gay marriage constitutional amendment here.
Down Goes Lugar
Indiana now officially in play for Senate Democrats – but by no means a gimme.
Live Results from Indiana
We’re tracking live results out of the Indiana Senate primary right here and as of 7:12 PM on the East Coast it’s not looking good for Dick Lugar. Definitely very earlier – 12% precincts reporting. But Mourdock is up by over 20 points.
If you’re in state, send us a note and let us know how things looked and felt on the ground today in Indiana.
Terror Gang Nabbed in Florida
White Supremacist leader & crew nabbed in Florida terror probe.
“The race war, he believed, was coming. So Florida white supremacist leader Marcus Faella instructed his followers over the past two years to prepare for it.”
What To Watch For Tonight
The three big races tonight are:
IN-Sen: Longtime incumbent Dick Lugar trying to win his party’s nomination in the GOP primary against Richard Mourdock.
WI-Gov: Democrats battling it out to face Gov. Scott Walker in a recall election.
NC-Gay Marriage: North Carolina voters deciding whether to enshrine only marriage between a man and a woman in the state constitution (a yes vote is anti-gay marriage).
Maurice Sendak, 1928-2012
Step By Step
Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) has released a new video showing him rehabbing from his January stroke. The reports about his condition from his staff and doctors over the last few months always struck me as factual and accurate but as somewhat cool and unemotional. You were left to read between the lines just how debilitating the stroke really was. This new video makes it quite clear: very debilitating. As Kirk himself says, it was a “big stroke.”
Why Obama Is Still ‘Evolving’ On Gay marriage
Endorsing gay marriage might not make political sense for Obama, despite the pressure for him to do so.
Racist Leader And Crew Nabbed In FL Terror Probe
In a series of arrests that began last week, a joint terrorism task force nabbed the FL chapter of American Front.
Most Recent Latest news stories from TPM reporters
Wall St. Analyst Defends Criticism Of Facebook Founder’s Hoodie
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s efforts this week to promote his company’s debut on the stock market to investors haven’t gone over so smoothly. First, Facebook’s unique video presentation reportedly struck a sour note in New York, leading the company to drop it when Zuckerberg went to court investors in Boston. Then, on late Tuesday night, entertainment and tech analyst Michael Pachter, of the firm Wedbush Securities, resoundingly critiqued Zuckerberg’s choice of clothing to,. …
House Republican: Stop Messing With Planned Parenthood
A freshman House Republican sent a concise message to his party leaders Wednesday: Stop messing with Planned Parenthood. Rep. Robert Dold, who represents the liberal suburbs of Chicago, on Wednesday unveiled the “Protecting Women’s Access to Health Care Act” outside the Capitol, which would forbid agencies and governments from denying Title X funds to a qualified organization. “As a pro-choice Republican, I believe that this legislation is critical because it ensures…
After NC Passes Marriage Amendment, Opponents Consider Next Steps
North Carolina voters may have just passed a change to the state’s constitution that designates marriage between a man and a woman as the only legally recognized union, but gay rights advocates are already considering options to counter the newly minted law. After Amendment One received overwhelming approval in Tuesday’s statewide election, a spokesperson for the Coalition to Protect NC Families told TPM that the organization would now “look at all legal options and political…
Conservative Author Jonah Goldberg’s Book Falsely Claims Pulitzer Nominations
Conservative author Jonah Goldberg has an impressive resume. He is the founding editor of National Review Online and its current editor-at-large. He’s a columnist for the Los Angeles Times and a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington.
But take a look at the dust jacket of his latest book, “The Tyranny of Cliches: How Liberals Cheat in the War of Ideas,” and you’ll find another accolade: two-time Pulitzer Prize nominee.
Claire McCaskill Doesn’t Fall For Colbert’s Entrapment Prank
Stephen Colbert thinks Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill (D) has a lot to answer for after launching an “attack ad against attack ad launchers.” So he had the senator do just that, inviting her on The Report to talk about all the “secret money” pouring into politics. “You know, I have a Super PAC,” Colbert reminded her. “I don’t know if you read the paper, I’ve got so much cash. Would you like some of it?” “I can’t ask you for Super PAC money because that would be coordination…
Jon Stewart Wonders Why The Right Doesn’t Give Obama Any Credit
Jon Stewart on Tuesday talked about “cognitive dissonance” – when two ideas exist in one’s head like two rats fighting in a bag. Some people are able to “square that circle,” Stewart said.
“Republicans, like all Americans, wanted very much to see Osama bin Laden dead,” he said. “At the same, time they believed Barack Obama is incapable of doing anything right.” Cue conservative politicians and pundits bemoaning President Obama’s “victory lap” on the first anniversary of bin Laden’s death.
Scientists Develop Graphene ‘Paper’
It’s not just a paper tiger: Swiss scientists have whipped up a new type of paper-like material made up of layers of folded proteins and graphene, itself a one atom-thick material made up of carbon atoms and famed for its wondrous properties, including extreme flexibility, superlative strength and electrical conductivity. The new material, which doesn’t yet have an official name, is a breakthrough because it combines graphene – which is water-repellant – with proteins that are…
Today On The Trail: May 9, 2012
Here are ten things you need to know today. Mourdock ousts Lugar: Indiana State Treasurer Richard Mourdock won his primary challenge to incumbent Sen. Richard Lugar on Tuesday with 60.6 percent to Lugar’s 39.4 percent. Mourdock will now run against Rep. Joe Donnelly in the general election. Anti-same sex marriage amendment passes: North Carolina voters on Tuesday approved Amendent One, an amendment to their state constitution which defines the only recognized legal union as a marriage …
The Foiled Underwear Airline Bomb Plot: What Do We Know?
It’s the latest underwear bomb plot that wasn’t. An Al Qaeda plan to blow up a passenger jetliner running right into the hands of U.S. and U.S.-friendly officials, giving the U.S. intelligence community another victory just days after the one-year anniversary of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. Reports on Tuesday made clear this was not a plot disrupted, as had initially been suggested, but a remarkable infiltration of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula by a double agent…
The Perilous Politics Of Same-Sex Marriage – Why The President Is Still ‘Evolving’
For those who wonder why President Obama won’t fully embrace same-sex marriage, despite relentless pressure from within his own party to do so, Tuesday night’s landslide passage of a same-sex marriage ban in North Carolina offered a reminder. TPM has reported that the President’s current positioning is a challenge for his campaign on the messaging front. On the one hand, the President and his team have to maintain the strong support of the LGBT community, a crucial voting bloc for…
After Brief Detour, Senate GOP Returns To Obstruction
Senate Republicans’ Tuesday filibuster of a Democratic bill to avert a student loan interest rate hike signals a return to familiar territory for the party. The move comes after a brief detour that spurred speculation about whether, with the general election in full swing, Republicans were ready to ease up when it comes to blocking hot-button issues. The context is an effort by the GOP – and its presumptive presidential nominee Mitt Romney – to save face with key voting…
CHART: What Gov’t Job Cuts Have Done To The Unemployment Rate
At a public event in Albany, N.Y., Tuesday, President Obama went counterintuitive. Bloated government is a phenomenon of Republican leadership, he noted, and it’s helped them weather economic downturns in a way he hasn’t been able to. “[A]fter there was a recession under Ronald Reagan, government employment went way up. It went up after the recessions under the first George Bush and the second George Bush,” he said. “So each time there was a recession with a Republican president…
Tom Barrett Wins Wisconsin Democratic Primary, Will Face Walker In Recall
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett has won the Democratic primary in Wisconsin, in the state’s recall election to face Republican Gov. Scott Walker, for what could very well be the second-most crucial and closely watched race in the country this year, behind only the presidential campaign. With 27 percent of precincts reporting, Barrett has 54 percent, former Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk 38%, state Sen. Kathleen Vinehout 4%, and Secretary of State Doug La Follette 3%. Barrett has…
Dick Lugar Doesn’t Go Quietly, Handing Democrats Plenty Of Ammo
Sen. Richard Lugar (R) delivered a bruising attack on the man who defeated him in the Republican primary as he conceded Tuesday night, giving the Democrats the ammunition they’re looking for to cast newly-minted Republican nominee Richard Mourdock as too extreme for the voters of Indiana. Lugar actually gave two responses to the primary. The first, delivered from a podium in Indianapolis, barely mentioned State Treasurer Richard Mourdock, the Tea Party-backed challenger who defeated …
NC Amendment One, State’s Same Sex Marriage Ban, Passes By Wide Margin
Marriage between a man and a woman will now be the only legally recognized domestic union in North Carolina after voters Tuesday overwhelmingly passed Amendment One, a change to the state’s constitution that could take effect as early as next week. North Carolina now becomes the 30th state to adopt a same-sex marriage ban. With all precincts reporting, 61 percent of voters supported the amendment, while 39 percent were opposed. After earning approval by the Republican-controlled…
Another Moderate Republican Icon Falls As Lugar Exits The Political Stage
Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar (R), Senate stalwart known for a kind of moderate Republicanism well out favor in the modern GOP, lost his primary bid against insurgent state Treasurer Richard Mourdock Tuesday night. The embarrassing defeat for Lugar caps off a 35-year career in the Senate and puts another nail in the coffin of centrist Republican political thought in government, which has been in deep decline since the Tea Party revolution of 2010 that put an increasingly…
Google Widens Tests Of High-Tech Glasses
Google is getting more and more of its employees to test out its forthcoming high-tech, computerized glasses, dubbed “Project Glass.” On Tuesday, one of the project’s lead designers, Sebastian Thrun, posted a photo taken with the glasses, a point-of-view shot of him spinning his child, Jasper (above). The photo was featured on the official Project Glass page on Google Plus. “We announced Project Glass in part to let our team start testing prototypes outside the office,” GoogleThe…
White Supremacist Leader, Crew Nabbed In Fla. Terror Probe
The race war, he believed, was coming. So Florida white supremacist leader Marcus Faella instructed his followers over the past two years to prepare for it. The preparations, according to law enforcement documents made public this week, included stockpiling weapons, experimenting with the creation of ricin and plotting some sort of “disturbance” on Orlando City Hall. In a series of arrests that began on Friday, a joint terrorism task force that included the FBI and local police moved …
Rep. Joe Wilson’s Wife Gets Into Shouting Match With State Senator
Vocal outbursts seem to run in the Wilson family. On Tuesday, the wife of Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) – of “You lie!” fame – chewed out South Carolina state Sen. Jake Knotts. The altercation, as WIS-TV reports, was over Knotts’ efforts to kill a bill that would reopen candidate filings for candidates removed from primary ballots. The need to fill the ballots came in the wake of a state Supreme Court decision, the Associated Press reports. Which brings us to the shouting match. Roxanne…
Twitter Fights Subpoena Of Occupy Wall Street Protester’s Account
NEW YORK – Twitter on Tuesday took a stand on behalf of a user and Occupy Wall Street protester whose account had been subpoenaed by the Manhattan District Attorney. The San Francisco-based microblogging company filed a motion in New York City criminal court seeking to quash an order that would force it to turn over personally identifiable account information of Malcolm Harris, a New York-based writer and prankster who was one of around 700 arrested during the October 2011 clash…