Grayson's blockbuster appearance on CNN: "Democrats have to have guts"

Rep. Alan Grayson was also on CNN. Watch it. Really watch it. It's 10 minutes long. But, well worth it.


Grayson was excellent. But, wow, the traditional media types are pathetic and painfully annoying. They're so delicate....how could Grayson actually say anything mean about Republicans? Grayson rebuts and destroyed everything that Wolf, Alex Castellanos, Gloria Borger and Joe Johns. Everything. And, Wolf looked particularly clueless. The GOPers want health care reform to fail. They want Obama to fail. It's like Wolf and his colleagues have no clue as to just how extreme the modern GOP really is.

One of Grayson's best line was: "Democrats have to have guts." AMEN. He also did call GOPers "knuckle-dragging neanderthals." (And, they are.)

This is the kind of behavior that should be rewarded. We don't see enough of it from people on the Hill. You can donate to Grayson here. It's one way to show Grayson's colleagues that while "the Villagers" may be appalled, the rest of are ecstatic. Read the rest of this post...

Newsmax is backing away from "Obama coup" story, fast

I was just contacted by Newsmax - there's a first - and they asked me to publish their statement regarding the story they printed earlier that discussed a possible military coup against President Obama's "Marxism." I have a feeling Newsmax wouldn't return the favor if the shoe were on the other foot, but perhaps that's what makes us different than them. Here's their statement - oh, and as TPM points out, according to Newsmax's own site, he sounds like a tad more than "some blogger":

Statement from Newsmax Regarding Blogger

In a blog posting to Newsmax John Perry wrote about a coup scenario involving the U.S. military. He clearly stated that he was not advocating such a scenario but simply describing one.

After several reader complaints, Newsmax wanted to insure that this article was not misinterpreted. It was removed after a short period after being posted.

Newsmax strongly believes in the principles of Constitutional government and would never advocate or insinuate any suggestion of an activity that would undermine our democracy or democratic institutions.

Mr. Perry served as a political appointee in the Carter administration in HUD and FEMA. He has no official relationship with Newsmax other than as an unpaid blogger.

Right, so he was a Democrat, 30 years ago (sure, that's why Newsmax, an arch-conservative Web site, published him) - and he wasn't advocating a coup. Really. Read the piece for yourself, Media Matters has a copy, and decide for yourself. Be interesting to hear what the RNC, which regularly sponsors Newsmax, has to say about this. Read the rest of this post...

Leading conservative "thinker": Women shouldn't vote. He should go work for Republican Bob McDonnell in Virginia.

Over at Think Progress, we learn that John Derbyshire, who writes a column at the leading right-wing publication, National Review, thinks women shouldn't be allowed to vote:

COLMES: We would be a better country? John Derbyshire making the statement, we would be a better country if women did not vote.

DERBYSHIRE: Yeah, probably.

Sounds like Derbyshire should be working for Virginia's GOP candidate for Governor, Bob McDonnell, who had problems with women working outside of the home. According to McDonnell's law school thesis, which he authored in 1989 at the age of 39, that's "detrimental." McDonnell also has problems with contraception, too. He's a real theocrat trying to masquerade as a moderate. Read the rest of this post...

Rep. Grayson's excellent speech on GOP health care plan upset the Republicans and George Stephanopoulos

UPDATE: Grayson did apologize today, but not to the Republicans:

_____________
Maybe there is at least one Democratic fighter.

Last night, I posted this floor speech from Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL). In under three minutes, he encapsulates the policy of the GOP when it comes to health care.

Via Marcy Wheeler, we learn that Grayson's speech gave poor George Stephanopoulos the vapors. He's so delicate. Wasn't George around in 1993 when the Clinton health care reform tanked? Maybe if the Democrats had a few more people like Grayson on their side back then, we could have done better.

Also, word is that the very sensitive House Republicans are trying to force Grayson to apologize for his remarks. Digby provides some video of Republican House members Virginia Foxx and Ginny Brown-Waite uttering some very harsh words about Democrats on the House Floor, but their speeches went unchallenged. The Republicans swarm over anyone who criticizes them. And, too often, Democrats get weak-kneed and cave in to GOP demands. That's already happened in this case. Rep. Larson, who serves in House leadership, thinks Grayson should apologize. That's so typical of Democratic "leaders" these days. You know, because if Democrats don't fight back and act sorry, maybe the Republicans will stop their dirty tricks. Right.

We need more Democrats like Alan Grayson. He's fearless, in addition to being right. As I said last night, I'm loving Grayson these days -- and all the more because he's offended the very delicate George Stephanopoulos and enraged the Republicans. I had a chance to spend some time with Grayson at Netroots Nation. The guy really is brilliant. His work on financial issues, especially his focus on the Fed, has really changed the course of the debate in Congress.

If you like what you're hearing from Rep. Grayson, help him out. The Republicans are gunning for him now. Read the rest of this post...

DNC says Cillizza is wrong

Brad Woodhouse, communications director at the DNC, penned his first blog post today taking on the Washington Post's Chris Cillizza over yesterday's column claiming the Dems didn't have a sufficient attack dog to counter Michael Steele and Sarah Palin. I agree with Cillizza, I think the "death panel" crap, and more generally the Teabaggers, have caused significant damage to the Democratic effort in that they successfully scared the hell out of our leaders, and got them to back off on issue after issue, promise after promise. But since this is Woodhouse's first foray into the left of the left, I decided to welcome him anyway. Read the rest of this post...

RNC sponsors NewsMax, which posted column about coup against Obama

Since the news broke about the column at NewsMax suggesting we needed a coup against Obama, there's been silence from the traditional media types. Literal silence. I just googled "Newsmax" and "coup" and did not find one article in the traditional media. Not one. The progressive media understands the import of this egregious action. Frankly, it just seemed like a matter of time before some right-winger started spouting this kind of sick talk (the post has been taken down, but we excerpted it here):

Imagine a bloodless coup to restore and defend the Constitution through an interim administration that would do the serious business of governing and defending the nation. Skilled, military-trained, nation-builders would replace accountability-challenged, radical-left commissars. Having bonded with his twin teleprompters, the president would be detailed for ceremonial speech-making.

Military intervention is what Obama’s exponentially accelerating agenda for “fundamental change” toward a Marxist state is inviting upon America. A coup is not an ideal option, but Obama’s radical ideal is not acceptable or reversible.

This is just an outrage. Clearly, the author felt like he was writing in a place where that message would resonate.

But, there's more to this story. Last night, John's post on the dangerous article was titled, Top GOP news portal discusses military "coup" against Obama. He was right. In fact, the Republican National Committee sponsors NewsMax.

NewsMax sends out emails quite frequently on behalf of the RNC. I was forwarded a NewsMax email sent for the RNC. The person who provided it told me he's gotten nine of these emails from NewsMax recently. It starts:


There's much more after the break. The RNC and NewsMax are very close.

Then, there was a lengthy message from RNC Chair Michael Steele, which concluded:

You and the RNC are all that stand between our sensible Republican plan for real health care reform and the Democrats' scheme to take more of your hard-earned income to pay for other people's health care while limiting yours.

So please complete your Future of American Health Care survey online right now and support our efforts to ensure our health care freedoms by making a special RNC contribution if you can. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Michael Steele
Chairman, Republican National Committee

P.S. GOP leaders in Congress are counting on the input of grassroots Republicans like you to help in the fight for sensible, responsive health care reform. Please fill out your Future of American Health Care survey online right now and make a special contribution of $1,000, $500, $100, $50 or $25 to help us stop “Obamacare” before it’s too late. Thank you.

So, let's review: The RNC sponsors NewsMax. NewsMax ran a disgusting column about a coup against Obama. Where's the RNC apology? Is the RNC ending its relationship with NewsMax? Where's the outrage in the traditional media? Where are the talking heads? Silence. That silence enables this craziness.

The RNC and FOX News create scandals out of nothing. They take tangential relationships and twist them. This isn't tangential. There is a strong relationship between the RNC and NewsMax.

Here's how the disclaimers on the email look:

NewsMax and the Republican National Committee speak with one voice. Believe me, none of the progressive media outlets on our side have that kind of relationship with the DNC. Read the rest of this post...

Poll has "No on 1" leading in Maine

Just posted the latest available polling from the Maine marriage campaign over at AMERICAblog.com Gay. A new Democracy Corps poll shows our side leading 50% - 41%. This is good news, but, these off-year referenda are notoriously hard to poll. That's why having a very strong field operation really matters. And, No on 1 has a very strong field operation. (The No on 1 ActBlue page just hit $800,000 and we'll need every cent of that -- and lots more. The Bishop of Maine has been raising money for the anti-gay campaign through special collections at masses. Who knows where the National Organization for Marriage is getting its money??? AMERICAblog's ActBlue page is here. The financial reporting period ends tonight so donate now.) Read the rest of this post...

Is it more important to pass a good bill, or a popular one?

From Dana Milbank at the Post:

My job is to put together a bill that gets 60 votes," the Finance Committee chairman [Baucus] said. "Now, I can count, and no one has been able to show me how we can count up to 60 votes with a public option in the bill. . . . I fear that if this provision is in the bill as it comes out of this committee, it will jeopardize real, meaningful, health-care reform."....

Rockefeller, who with a net worth north of $60 million is less skeptical of capitalism than Moore, argued to his colleagues that "Adam Smith would have cooked up this amendment." To Baucus, he said: "I understand the chairman has a responsibility to count votes and all the rest," but "I don't want to get to a point where process makes more difference than people."

Actually, no. Your job, Senator Baucus, and the President's job, is to whip your colleagues to get 60 votes for the kind of bill you'd prefer, not the other way around. This isn't the first time we've heard talk of putting the number of votes above the actual substance. On the stimulus bill, we heard how the most important thing was to get 80 votes in the Senate. No, the most important thing was to pass a bill that worked. Ditto on health care. Read the rest of this post...

Corzine closing gap in New Jersey (and his opponent likes Springsteen, which the NY Times thinks is news)

This is one of the most useless and inane articles I've ever seen in the NY Times. Today, on the front page of the Times, we learn that GOP candidate for Governor, Chris Christie, is a huge fan of Bruce Springsteen. Seriously? That's news? A New Jersey politician likes The Boss. Stop the presses!!! Who cares? I don't know Bruce, but I do know his politics and I doubt he's a fan of Christie:

As to his rival’s admiration of Mr. Springsteen, Mr. Corzine said: “Last time I checked, Bruce Springsteen was for the working man, not giant corporations and the very wealthy.”

Fortunately, the polls in New Jersey have tightened up. Corzine has pulled to within four points: 43% - 39% in the Quinnipiac Poll. The margin of Christie's lead was 10% points a month ago.

This is what people really need to know about Chris Christie: He erupted at a constituent, a cancer-survivor, who asked about health care, telling her she's an "exception" because cancer happened in her 20s. Christie sides with insurance companies. Marcy Wheeler explained how she and Jane Hamsher were "exceptions," too. My cousin, Mary Jo, was an "exception," too. She died of breast cancer when she was 30. As Marcy put it, Christie is "a walking death panel for 'exceptions' like me and Jane.." Classy guy that Chris Christie:
Read the rest of this post...

A "significant setback" that should have been avoided

First, McClatchy's take on the Senate Finance Committee votes yesterday:

In the first significant setback for the centerpiece of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday soundly rejected the "public option," or government-run health insurance plan.

It was a setback the Obama team brought upon itself. The Deputy Chief of Staff at the White House, Jim Messina, used to work for Baucus as his chief of staff. They're very close. Messina and his boss, Rahm Emanuel, had a Senate strategy built around Baucus and his bill. If the White House wanted a public option in the legislation, it would have been there. Then, the Republicans would have had to remove it, instead of having Democrats add it.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is going to be faced with a similar opportunity. He can include the very popular public option in the Senate bill. That way, the GOP will have to try to remove it on the Senate floor -- a move that could be filibustered by Democrats. I don't know why, with 60 votes, the Democrats haven't figured out how to use the process to their advantage. Sure, the GOP will try to filibuster the final bill. They're going to do that anyway. That's where leadership comes in -- from Harry Reid and Barack Obama.

Without leadership and using the power they have, there will be more articles about "significant setbacks." There's a growing sense in the traditional media and from the pundits that the public option is finished. That's because they know the players and are not expecting to see real leadership. Will our leaders prove them wrong? Read the rest of this post...

THIS JUST IN: Newsmax pulls article suggesting military coup against Obama

We wrote about this earlier today. Now is when you go for the jugular. Hopefully the DNC, Democrats on the Hill, and the administration understand how politics works, how you take advantage of your opponent's mistakes, of his moment of weakness. Having said that, I expect silent and an olive branch. But hopefully I'm wrong. Read the rest of this post...

Imagine holding a bake sale to pay for your heart surgery

He should have held a bake sale to pay off Democratic Senator Max Baucus, the man President Obama put in charge of health care reform, who has received millions from the health and insurance lobby. Why again is Baucus "first among equals" concerning health care reform when he shouldn't even be in the room because of his conflict of interests? For all intents and purposes, Max Baucus is an industry lobbyist. I thought this time around we weren't going to let lobbyists run the show. I thought wrong.

Read the rest of this post...

Assassination

There, I said it. So did Thomas Friedman in today's NYT.

Oddly, like Friedman, I, John Aravosis, also met Yitzhak Rabin not long before he was assassinated. It was an odd meeting. I think it was September of 1993. He was in Washington to sign the "Declaration of Principles" with Yasser Arafat. My old boss, Senator Ted Stevens, had a private meeting set up with Rabin in the US Capitol building. As Stevens' foreign policy adviser, I went with. We made it through the gauntlet of (hot) Israeli security, and there was Rabin, sitting on a small piano-like bench, before a coffee table, with a couch to his right, and several chairs to his left. Everyone sat down, Stevens on the couch, Rabin on the piano-bench, I stood by the door politely deferential.

Rabin then looked at me, and said in his horrendously accented English, "come sit down." There was nowhere for me to sit, all the seats were taken (there were only six or seven seats around the coffee table, as I recall), and in any case, I could see Stevens glowering at me from the couch, and I knew it wasn't my place to join in.

Rabin would have none of it. Sit down, he told me again. It's okay, I said, and there's nowhere to sit anyway. Rabin looked around, realized I was right, and then scooched over on the very small single-person bench and said "sit here," patting the small space next to him.

I didn't know what to do. I was 30 at the time, in one of the more important meetings of my life, and the Israeli Prime Minister was demanding I share a love seat with him, while my boss gave me a "don't you dare" stare.

So, I scooched next to the Prime Minister of Israel, our sides touching, while everyone around the table gave me a "do you know who he is?" kind of look.

I didn't understand a thing Rabin said at the meeting. I speak five languages, four fluently. Rabin-English wasn't one of them.

Two years later he was dead from an assassin's bullet. Read the rest of this post...

Please call GOP Senator David Vitter for any of your prostitution questions

Read the rest of this post...

Wednesday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

The president is hosting a big, really big, meeting on Afghanistan today. As I noted yesterday, the GOPers on the HIll, who ignored the war in Afghanistan during the Bush years, now want to play politics with national security again. That's just beyond disgusting, but it's what Republicans do. Anyway, the attendees list for today's meeting gives the sense of its import: Vice President Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Admiral Michael Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General David Petraeus, U.S. Central Command, General Stanley McChrystal, U.S. Commander in Afghanistan, Admiral Dennis Blair, Director of National Intelligence, CIA Director Leon Panetta, Karl Eikenberry, U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan, Anne Patterson, U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan and General James Jones, National Security Advisor.

If you live in Virginia, which has an election for Governor, or Washington State, where Approve Referendum 71 is on the ballot, make sure you're registered to vote. Registration closes on Monday, October 5th. Also, today is the end of the financial reporting in Maine for the No on 1/Protect Maine Equality Campaign. If you want to donate to save marriage equality in Maine, you can do it here. Our side is running an aggressive operation up there with very good tv ads and an excellent ground game. The anti-gay forces will have plenty of money to spew their anti-gay rhetoric. We can't let the lies win this time.

Let's get started. Busy day ahead.... Read the rest of this post...

Climate change will force 25 million more children to hungry

Foot dragging is not an option. The Guardian:

Twenty-five million more children will go hungry by the middle of this century as climate change leads to food shortages and soaring prices for staples such as rice, wheat, maize and soya beans, a report says today.

If global warming goes unchecked, all regions of the world will be affected, but the most vulnerable – south Asia and sub-Saharan Africa – will be hit hardest by failing crop yields, according to the report, prepared by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) for the World Bank and Asian Development Bank.

The children of 2050 will have fewer calories to eat than those in 2000, the report says, and the effect would be to wipe out decades of progress in reducing child malnutrition.

Read the rest of this post...

At least 80 dead in Samoa following tsunami

Unfortunately they expect the death toll on the islands to increase as well. The center of the large earthquake was in Hawaii though they reportedly did not feel the movement in Samoa. Very sad.

Dozens of people were feared dead and many more have been injured after a powerful earthquake triggered a tsunami that swept the Pacific islands of Samoa and American Samoa.

Cars and people were swept out to sea by the fast-churning water as survivors fled to high ground, where they remained huddled hours later. Signs of devastation were everywhere, with villages flattened, a giant boat getting washed ashore and coming to rest on the edge of a highway and floodwaters swallowing up cars and homes.

Read the rest of this post...

Rep. Grayson (D-FL) unveils the GOP health care plan

I'm loving Rep. Alan Grayson. He's fearless.
Read the rest of this post...

Layoffs stabilizing but few new jobs

As with many of the jobs updates lately, it's not the best of news but it could be much worse. It's doubtful much will change in 2009 though perhaps in 2010 we will start to see more positive change. Reuters:

Employers have sharply cut back on layoffs but hiring has yet to take off, putting a damper on domestic demand. That has left many analysts doubting the economy's recovery from its worst recession in 70 years will be sustainable once the government's various spending programs end.

The survey of 77 economists forecast employers cut 180,000 jobs in September, which would be the smallest amount for any month since August 2008. Payrolls declined 216,000 in August.

Read the rest of this post...