Teabaggers not done with kamikaze runs quite yet

Daily Kos: The Senate Conservatives Fund, a conservative political action committee founded by Heritage CEO Jim DeMint when he was in the U.S. Senate, has endorsed Kentucky businessman Matt Bevin, who is running a tea party challenge against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in the Kentucky GOP Senate primary next May. Louisville Courier-Journal:

"We have interviewed a lot of candidates this year and Matt Bevin is one of the very best. He’s principled, passionate, and has Ted Cruz-like courage,” said Matt Hoskins, the group’s executive director, referring to Cruz, the U.S. senator from Texas, who led the fight to shut down government in an effort to defund the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

So, if Kentucky Republicans are looking for the second coming of Ted Cruz, SCF says Matt Bevin is their man…

True to the headline, Sarah Palin is also making some pro-Bevin noise, which is probably not the world’s best news for Mitch. Right now, McConnell’s in a bona fide tossup with Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes, who he’s currently trailing by two points. Split the conservative vote between McConnell and Bevin (who was previously destined to be a footnote) and Grimes is the obvious beneficiary. DeMint and Palin would be punishing Mitch McConnell, to be sure, but they’d also be helping Grimes. Cutting off your nose to spite your face seems to be a favorite Tea Party pastime.

Group behind McConnell recording a long-running clown show

Alex Seitz-Wald: Liberal super PAC Progress Kentucky is at the center of controversy after a Democratic strategist in the state said activists affiliated with the group bragged to him that they secretly recorded the audiotape of Mitch McConnell’s strategy meeting that was leaked to Mother Jones this week. If true, they could face criminal sanctions. The treasurer of the super PAC resigned this afternoon [i.e., 4/11/13].

Now, it’s worth stating that we don’t know for sure that Progress Kentucky produced the tape or is involved in any way — this is just the word of one Democratic strategist, who has an interest in distancing his party from the group.

But it’s not the first time the super PAC has gotten into trouble. In late February, they made a series of offensive “jokes” about McConnell’s wife on Twitter, attacking her for being Chinese-American. Even Ashley Judd felt compelled to issue a public condemnation.

But there’s something important you should know about Progress Kentucky: No one took its members very seriously in Kentucky, even before the slurs or the secret tape. I know this because I once quoted Curtis Morrison, who was one of what appears to be only two or three people associated with the group (he resigned in March), and a number of liberal activists in the state told me to never do it again.

“I feel inclined to warn you that he (and they) are a long running joke in Louisville,” a progressive activist and writer messaged me on Feb. 25. “Everyone in KY (liberals included & especially) can’t believe how much attention they’ve gotten in the national media, especially considering no one here takes them seriously (due to a long history of incompetence). An anti-Mitch group needs to emerge, but dear God, it is not Curt & Co. Just an FYI!”

How much of a mover and shaker is Progress Kentucky? Well, in the last cycle this “Super PAC” raised a whopping $1,005 and spent $18. So, in the grand scheme of political powerhouses in the state, Progress Kentucky isn’t one — not even remotely.

“Kentucky Democrats have never taken Progress Kentucky seriously. If you can’t raise more than $1,000 to defeat the most unpopular Senator in the country, you are not a remotely serious political organization,” a Kentucky Democratic operative told Seitz-Wald. The local political blog PageOne Kentucky calls the group a “walking disaster.”

In the end, Progress Kentucky has done more harm than good — as is the case usually, apparently. McConnell has bundled up the PAC with other liberal and Democratic groups when talking about the incident, using Progress Kentucky to broadbrush the entire left. Seitz-Wald writes that their ineffectiveness “won’t stop McConnell’s forces from trying to connect the audiotaping and the group to other Democratic groups, no matter how unfairly.”

Given how profoundly irrelevant the group is, it would be inaccurate to say that they’re why Democrats have a hard time winning in Kentucky. But they’re clearly not helping, either.

[photo by _gee_]

Recent days demonstrate that Senate bottleneck is McConnell’s fault

I know this is starting to look like “Mitch McConnell Day,” but this observation from Politico’s David Rogers was too good to pass up.

Thursday’s Senate vote to move ahead with gun control legislation marked the fifth time in just two months that Democrats have won a procedural showdown by peeling off Republicans at the expense of Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)

The 68—31 roll call was more than enough to meet the 60-vote requirement to invoke cloture, with 16 Republicans providing the winning margin. This fits a pattern seen increasingly since mid-February: McConnell steadfast in opposition even as his rank-and-file cross the aisle, raising fragile hopes of a bipartisan revival.

The GOP leader remains powerful and smart. But by taking himself out of the legislative game, he is also ceding power to a new set of Republicans wanting to fill the vacuum.

In other words, while Mitch’s is off playing “cover your butt” against Tea Partiers with their eyes on nutcase purity and the Kentucky GOP primary, the Senate has actually managed to get some work done. Remove Mitch McConnell from the equation and the Senate actually works — it’s not firing on all cylinders by any means, but it’s limping along much better than it does when the Senate minority leader’s running the show.

There may not be just one person to blame for gridlock in DC, but there is one man who’s name is stenciled on obstructionism in the Senate: Mitch McConnell.

Kentucky Democratic SuperPAC behind McConnell recordings

Weird, I would’ve bet good money that a staffer or lobbyist had stabbed Mitch in the back. In my defense, I came to that conclusion because I assumed there was some measure of security and secrecy to McConnell’s campaign meetings. Turns out he might as well have broadcast them with a webcam.

Political Wire: A secret recording of a campaign strategy session between Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and his advisors was recorded by leaders of the Progress Kentucky super PAC, Democratic operative Jacob Conway tells WFPL-FM.

The super PAC operatives did not attend the opening of McConnell’s campaign headquarters, but they arrived later and were apparently able to hear the strategy meeting from the hallway.

Said Conway: “One of them held the elevator, the other one did the recording and they left. That was what they told to me from them directly… Apparently the gentlemen overheard the conversation and decided to record it with a phone or recording device they had in their pocket. Could’ve been an iPhone, could’ve been a Flip camera or something like that.”

You could hear all of Mitch’s super-secret campaign plans from the hallway of his building. What is this, some replica Japanese pagoda with paper walls? This whole story gets more and more ridiculous as time goes on. You’d think McConnell were a first term alderman, instead of the minority leader of the US Senate.

[photo by Gage Skidmore]

Did recording reveal McConnell lawbreaking?

Mother Jones: Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a nonprofit government watchdog, has asked the Senate ethics committee and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to probe whether aides to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell improperly conducted political opposition research on federal government time.

A tape of a February McConnell campaign meeting that Mother Jones released Tuesday includes a section in which a McConnell aide states that McConnell’s “LAs”—congressional parlance for legislative assistants—helped gather background information on Ashley Judd, who was at the time considered a potential opponent in McConnell’s 2014 reelection race. The tape also refers to a “Josh” who worked on the research, which CREW’s complaint speculates might be Josh Holmes, McConnell’s congressional chief of staff.

Senate ethics rules forbid legislative assistants and other Senate employees from participating in political activities on government time. “In general, however, the ethics rules do not bar staffers from engaging in campaign activity provided they do it on their own time and do not involve government resources or property,” Tara Malloy, a government ethics expert at the Campaign Legal Center, told Mother Jones on Tuesday. You can read the relevant section of the ethics rules here. Bottom line: if McConnell’s aides did the research in their free time, they’re in the clear. But if they used government resources or worked on political matters on government time, they could be in trouble.

Not surprisingly, McConnell’s office says the staffers were working on their own time and it’s likely those staffers will agree. Of course, if they did campaign on the taxpayers’ dime, they’d deny it, since it’s just as criminal for them as for McConnell.

“McConnell should welcome a review of the tape,” CREW’s executive director Melanie Sloan says. “If McConnell thought it was so important for the FBI to investigate, the FBI should investigate everything about the incident. I think that’s hard to argue against. The tape certainly gives you probable cause to believe something improper occurred. It clearly merits investigation.”

McConnell campaign’s spin is spinning out of control

Mitch McConnell’s reaction to the story of his willingness to smear Ashley Judd has really got Mitch off-balance. All in all, this hasn’t been a good day for Team Mitch.

Steve Benen: …Look, I’ve followed enough campaigns to know how the game is played. McConnell doesn’t want to talk about his opposition-research team digging up dirt, and certainly doesn’t want to talk about his willingness to use the suicidal thoughts of a sixth-grader as a legitimate line of attack in a Senate campaign, so instead he and his aides are trying a misdirection strategy — the recordings aren’t important, the argument goes; it’s how the recordings were obtained that matters.

It’s all rather transparent, predicated on the assumption — which is probably a rather safe one — that the political world is easily distracted by smoke and mirrors.

But the hysterical reaction isn’t helping McConnell’s case. The Republican senator’s office initially blamed “ the Left” for “bugging” McConnell’s campaign headquarters. Then McConnell aides blamed Mother Jones magazine. Then Team McConnell blamed a local liberal group called ProgressKY. Then McConnell sent out a fundraising letter arguing that “the liberal media” is responsible. The begging-for-cash email included [the above] attention-getting graphic.

It’s certainly possible Republican donors will fall for this, but with Team McConnell pointing at a new culprit every hour or so, they’re starting to sound a little unhinged. When Brick Tamland shouts, “Loud noises,” it’s hilarious, but when the Senate Minority Leader’s office does it, it’s kind of pathetic.

To be sure, if there’s any evidence that a journalist was involved with, in McConnell’s words, a “Watergate-style” bugging operation of a senator’s office, it would certainly deserve to be a huge controversy, but there’ no evidence that anyone — Mother Jones, ProgressKY, Bigfoot, the Illuminati, et al — bugged McConnell’s office.

As I’ve already pointed out, Mitch has actually got two problems and the combination is apparently proving a bit much for him. He’s shrieking “WIRETAP! WIRETAP!” but as Benen points out, there’s no evidence of that at all. In fact, it’s much more likely that the recording was leaked — for reasons as yet unknown — by a member of McConnell’s own team or someone close to it. In other words, McConnell got stabbed in the back by a traitor.

Maybe Team Mitch’s scattershot blame-casting is a reflection of how distracted they are by the turncoat in their midst. You’d think the Senate minority leader’s campaign team could walk and chew gum at the same time, but maybe walking, chewing gum, and looking over their shoulder for backstabbers is stretching their abilities a little thin.

McConnell freaks out over recordings — and he should

By now, you’ve probably heard about a recording of a Mitch McConnell campaign meeting where he discussed smearing Ashley Judd as mentally unbalanced and not a true Christian. If not, the story is here and the transcript is here. Suffice it to say that it makes Mitch seems like a real jerk.

Mitch’s reaction was pretty much immediate.

CNN: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s re-election campaign is “working with the FBI” on how Mother Jones, a liberal magazine, obtained a recording of political aides meeting with McConnell and discussing opposition research on Ashley Judd, McConnell campaign manager Jesse Benton told CNN Tuesday.

In the recordings, political operatives huddling at the senator’s campaign headquarters in Kentucky, are heard discussing potentially attacking Judd’s mental health, as well as her left-leaning politics, if she had decided to make a bid against McConnell, who’s running for a sixth term in office next year.

“Obviously a recording device of some kind was placed in Senator McConnell’s campaign office without consent. By whom and how that was accomplished will presumably be the subject of a criminal investigation,” Benton said in a statement.

“We’ve always said the Left will stop at nothing to attack Sen. McConnell, but Watergate-style tactics to bug campaign headquarters is above and beyond,” Benton also said.

I literally laughed out loud at that last paragraph. McConnell can’t possibly believe that someone in a ninja suit snuck in in the dead of night and planted a bug, like some episode of Mission: Impossible. The recording was released by David Corn, the same person who released video of Mitt Romney’s disastrous “47%” comments.

And it seems far more likely that Corn got this recording the same way he got the 47% video. Someone at that meeting recorded it on their phone surreptitiously, which means McConnell is not surrounded exclusively by friends.

Right now, McConnell is going into standard disaster management mode and trying to change the subject from what the recording says to how the recording was obtained — i.e., he wants to make the switch from villain to victim. But he’s got a much bigger problem: who is it that’s gunning for him and why? There are going to be a lot of awkward conversations at McConnell campaign HQ in the coming weeks.

[photo by Titanas]

Pretty much everybody wants to be rid of Mitch McConnell

Raw Story:

A progressive super PAC in Kentucky is looking at getting in bed with the tea party in order to oust the six-term incumbent Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

Hearing last week’s news that a coalition of tea party groups calling themselves the United Tea Party of Kentucky are targeting McConnell and interested in taking input from other outside groups, Progress Kentucky got in touch.

“What we’re finding — at least in this stage of the race — we’re finding that our interests align [with the tea party],” Progress Kentucky organizer Keith Rouda told Politico. “It’s unusual.”

Private democratic donors are getting in on the candidate-hunt too, Politico noted, offering to put money behind anyone who could credibly challenge the Senate’s top Republican. And all that cash can’t sound so bad to the United Tea Party folks.

“If he was interested in what we do and what we believe, he would be promoting legislation and putting forward small government ideas, but we haven’t seen that from him, so 30 years of media spin and political machine spin has run it’s course,” United Tea Party spokesperson John Kemper III told WSFA-TV.

The liberal argument for this de facto alliance would be that it’s worked before. The report tells us that the strategy could “lead to a candidate in the general who’s much more conservative, similar to failed Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin, who was heavily favored in the primary by people supporting Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO).” The primary race would be hotly contested, which means both Republican candidates would blow a lot of money on the primary, perhaps leaving them underfunded in the general.

The problem, of course, is that Kentucky’s a hard state for Democrats to win and the — very, very real — danger is that we could wind up with a Senator much farther to the right than McConnell. However, we would also wind up with a senator much less powerful than McConnell, so maybe there’s some advantage there. Keep in mind, Todd Akin hung himself with his idiotic rape theorizing — you can’t count on every Tea Party Republican to be as self-destructive.

On the other hand, McConnell’s approvals are in the crapper, so he’s not exactly a shoe-in.

Maybe it’s worth a shot or maybe it’s a waste of time. Personally, I think it’s worth it, if only to force the GOP to rejigger their senate structure. They’d probably come out of that a little less organized. And who knows, a Democrat might actually win.

Stories to Watch: 6/19/12

Despite reports that Marco Rubio is off the list of possible running mates, Romney insists he's still in contention. In related news, a woman is probably out.


Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell says he's waiting for Romney to come up with a position on children of undocumented immigrants before the party takes a stand on the issue. I wouldn't hold my breath. Mittens is really shy about controversy and my money's on him hoping for it to all blow over.


One of the many, many ways Republicans fail to actually support our troops. It's more than a slogan, guys.


If government is dysfunctional, blame Republicans.


Romney is being pursued by a giant foam-rubber birth control dispenser.


The familiar sight of throngs of Egyptians crowding Tahrir Square. Also, is Hosni Mubarak dead or not?


We've got to fire teachers, police, and firefighters. Cut foodstamps and government services. Slash Medicare and Social Security. But, for Republicans at least, there's always plenty of money to throw at nuclear weapons.


Finally, National Review isn't even pretending not to be racist anymore.

Related articles

• Egyptian protesters return to Tahrir Square to fight military rule - Los Angeles Times

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• McConnell: Tax code benefits the poor and needs to be changed

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• Business Insider Editor Says Mitch McConnell Enforcing GOP Obstruction 'From Now Until The Election'

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Stories to Watch: 12/11/11

Shorty today. It's Sunday, for one, which is always light in the best case. For another, everything seems to be about last night's debate. Since you can get debate coverage just about anywhere, I'm going to play clean up with mostly other stories. Now here's the news...


Being reported everywhere: new NBC News-Marist polls show Newt Gingrich opening up a big lead over Mitt Romney in S. Carolina and Florida. Under-reported everywhere: the same polls show that President Obama would beat either in both states. Part of the reason (in S. Carolina at least) is probably that Tea Party Gov. Nikki Haley sucks. I doubt Florida's Rick Scott's approvals are any better.


Newt Gingrich is seen as the winner of last night's GOP debate, by virtue of not losing.


Climate talks in Durban reach a deal -- a pointless deal that doesn't solve the problem.


Mitch McConnell tells a hilarious joke: "Look, [the Republican Party is] not here to defend high-income people." Stop it, Mitch! You're killing me!


Christian nutjobs are staging home invasions, kidnappings, and assaults to spread the glorious Love of Christ and the Word of the Prince of Peace.


Michele Bachmann reached adulthood at the age of 5. That's what she says, anyway.

Related articles

• "This president is the problem, not something that Newt Gingrich said." (shortformblog.tumblr.com)
• Newt Gingrich Threat To Mitt Romney Rises After Iowa Debate (huffingtonpost.com)
• Newt Gingrich Struggling For Women's Vote (huffingtonpost.com)
• Resignation And Anger In Durban: 'What is the news I'm going to take home to my flooded country?' (thinkprogress.org)

Debt Ceiling Deadline May be Sooner than August 2

However crazy you think House Republicans, take that and double it. You'll still fall short.

Politico:

Washington's frayed nerves showed through Monday amid tough talk on the right, a White House veto threat, canceled weekend passes and the top Senate Democrat likening default to a "very, very scary" outcome even for those "who believe government should be small enough to drown in a bathtub."

"What will it take," asked an agitated Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), "for my Republican colleagues to wake up to the fact that they're playing a game of political chicken with the entire global economy?"

News Roundup for 7/14/11

Infographic of the Reid-McConnell debt limit plan

-Headline of the day-
"Harry Reid And Mitch McConnell: 'Hybrid' Solution To Debt Standoff."

You know how I'm always saying that if you meet someone who's crazy halfway, the results are halfway crazy? Turns out that Harry Reid has decided to meet Mitch McConnell halfway and the results are predictable. The two have knocked together a plan to raise the debt ceiling and... Well, check it out for yourself.

According to the report, "The plan, which is being hatched by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), would ensure that over $1.5 trillion in cuts over ten years be passed into law. It would also grant President Obama the authority to extend the debt ceiling through the 2012 election season while requiring him to propose -- but allowing him to ultimately veto -- cuts beyond those initial $1.5 trillion."

OK, do what now? Each day, this thing gets more needlessly complicated. Did I mention the new panel? Yeah, "the deal would create a new 'deficit commission' comprised solely of lawmakers who would be tasked with finding additional savings in the budget. The commission's recommendations would be given automatic, amendment-free votes in both chambers of Congress." Because the Democrat-controlled Senate and the Republican-controlled House are in agreement so often, I guess. This will all pass sure as shootin', right?

Here's what you do; you sit Mitch and Boehner down in a room -- Cantor you lock in a steamer trunk -- and tell them that polling shows that the public is inclined to blame the GOP if the country goes into default. You tell them that you'll officially change the name of the Oval Office to the "Everything's Republican's Fault Room" and work 24/7 to see that the public's inclination doesn't change. White House press conferences will feature a pullstring toy and every time a reporter pulls the string, it'll say, "Everything's Republicans' fault!" Special editions of Jeopardy will be commissioned, where every answer is "What is something that's the Republicans' fault?" And Air Force One will fly back and forth of the nation, fitted with a mile-long banner reading... Well, you get the idea.

That ought to do the trick. (Huffington Post)


-Cartoon time with Mark Fiore-
Hey kids, Uncle Mark has a special cartoon he calls "Mourning in America." Yay!

Um, wait... Is that spelled right?


Click for animation

Yeah. I guess that's spelled right. (MarkFiore.com)


-Bonus HotD-
"Minnesota Governor Offers To End Shutdown, Reestablish Beer Supply."

Pray he succeeds or Minnesotan society will surely collapse. (Wonkette)

Stories to Watch: 7/13/11

Wisconsin Governor Walker spoke at Gateway Technical College yesterday, celebrating 100 years of technical education in Wisconsin. This despite the fact that the governor cut funding for such schools by 30% and eliminated the teacher's bargaining rights. As you can imagine, this did not go well.


Now here's the news...


Another thing that didn't go well for Walker yesterday was the kickoff to the recall season. You might've heard that Republicans had put up fake Democrats to force primaries. Those primaries were last night and not a single fake dem won. Of course, this little exercise in futility cost the taxpayers nearly half a million dollars -- but that's only because Republicans are so fiscally responsible.


Harry Reid actually endorses -- albeit weakly -- Mitch McConnell's crazy-assed plan to weasel out of political responsibility for raising the debt limit. Then again, if Reid did it to discredit McConnell's idea with the Republican base, then it's working.


Are Republicans justs tryng to find the best position in the debt limit negotiations? Jonathan Chait writes that "the evidence that's leaked out about internal Republican deliberations suggests the Republicans are not shrewdly trying to maximize their leverage. They're just barking mad." A must-read.


Unintended consequence of the government shutdown in Minnesota; because bars can't renew their liquor purchasing licenses, many are starting to run dry. According to the report, "others may soon run out of cigarettes." I foresee rioting.


Things are getting serious now. GOP Rep. Peter King wants an FBI probe into News Corp's possible hacking of the phones of 9/11 victims. When high-profile Republicans start to turn on Rubert Murdoch, things are definitely headed south for him.


Texas Governor Rick Perry's past associations with racist, neo-confederate, literally America-hating groups comes back to haunt him.


Finally, Mitch McConnell has definitely blinked.

Related articles

• GOP is ALLOWING PETTINESS OVERCOME PATRIOTISM (current.com)
• Mitch McConnell's new Blinky Gambit on Debt Ceiling (crooksandliars.com)
• When Will Rick Perry Announce? (politicalwire.com)
• 'Reverse ferret!' Can Rupert Murdoch limit tabloid scandal fallout? - Christian Science Monitor (news.google.com)

Stories to Watch: 7/12/11

More coffee. More coffee. Now here's the news...


Mitch McConnell offers a peculiarly roundabout scheme to get a debt ceiling vote through the Senate; the Senate votes against raising the debt ceiling, Obama vetoes the bill, the Senate tries to override the veto (guaranteed to fail), and Obama gets his increase.

Why the circuitous method? It's all about saving Republican asses. McConnell knows that any default will be blamed on the GOP, yet Republicans can't vote to raise the limit without freaking out the 'baggers and -- maybe -- losing votes to even crazier third-party candidates next time around. This way, Republicans get to vote against raising the debt limit -- twice -- along with a few Democrats providing a sham "bipartisanship."

Then President Obama gets to face "He vetoed a bipartisan effort to control runaway Washington spending" ads in the reelection cycle. I doubt even the Compromiser in Chief will fall for this one.

But it does show just how desperate Republican leadership is getting; McConnell wants Obama to unpaint him out of a corner.

***
Ron Paul won't run for reelection. Let the rampage of unbridled socialism begin.


For a guy who's supposedly so terrible, Barack Obama's White House remains curiously unrocked by scandal. The guy's been a freakin' Boy Scout so far. Apparently, this is enough to arouse the suspicion of House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, who seems bound and determined to solve the scandal deficit.


In case you were wondering; yes, Alan Grayson is still awesome.


This is weird. The head of the Republican Senatorial Committee, John Cornyn, has picked Carly Fiorina to be the vice chair of his organization. What's so weird about that? Fiorina lost to Sen. Barbara Boxer by 10 points in 2010 and the NRSC's job is to elect Republican senators. That should work out great.


Finally, Google may have further distanced itself from their old motto "don't be evil" by cutting off Iranian users from using the new Google Plus social networking site. An error page tells Iranian users they're trying to access the site from a "forbidden country." Social media was a big part of the uprising of the Iranian people and Google's apparently helping to make sure that Ahmadinejad has no further problems on that front.

Related articles

• Reaction to McConnell's debt ceiling offer decidedly mixed (dailykos.com)
• New GOP honcho Carly Fiorina is "focused on 2012,'' but on future run for office? "Never say never" (sfgate.com)
• McConnell Proposal Gives Obama Power to Increase Debt Limit - NYTimes.com (policyabcs.wordpress.com)
• McConnell Offers Rube Goldberg Plan to Allow Debt Limit Increases, Force Democratic Votes for Plan (news.firedoglake.com)

News Roundup for 7/11/11

Sen. Mitch McConnell

-Headline of the Day-
"McConnell: Casey Anthony verdict a warning."

Oh for fuck's sake...

Proving that there is absolutely nothing that Republicans can't politicize and capitalize on, Senate minority leader "Chinless Mitch" McConnell declared the US system of justice completely worthless yesterday. "We just found with the Caylee Anthony case how difficult is to get a conviction in a U.S. court," McConnell said -- and that's why we should never, ever, ever try a terrorist suspect in a court of law.

Of course, following this line of reasoning, everyone accused of a crime should go before a military tribunal. Got an outstanding parking ticket? Off to Gitmo! It's the only place that still serves American justice!

We'll keep that in mind the next time some Republican gets caught with his hand in the cookie jar, OK Mitch? (UPI)


-The internet hive-mind strikes again-
When I was writing the piece above, I went looking for an image to represent Mitch McConnell -- so "cartoon turtle glasses" it was. The result:


Click to embiggen

On the first page. (Google Image Search)


-Bonus HotD-
"'Nobody is talking about not raising the debt ceiling'."

Yesterday seems to have been "National Mitch McConnell Spews Crazy-Assed Bullshit Day."

And I didn't even get my mother a card. (Political Animal)

Stories to Watch: 7/10/11

I kind of want to grill out tonight, but it's supposed to rain. Should I risk it? I just might. Now here's the news...


Not content with taking away workers' rights in Wisconsin, Gov. Walker also decides to steal their pensions.


More of the GOP"s idea of "shared sacrifice"; Boehner wants to scale back spending cuts in order to protect tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. We can give up less in order to pay for a free ride for Wall Street types, because that's fair. Steve Benen detects a lack of leadership on the speaker's part.


The White House responds to the news with a statement saying, "[W]e cannot ask the middle-class and seniors to bear all the burden of higher costs and budget cuts. We need a balanced approach that asks the very wealthiest and special interests to pay their fair share as well, and we believe the American people agree." expect whiny cries of "SOCIALISM!" any second now.


Proof that conservative blogger Don Surber is a dumbass: he sees the Bachmann pledge story as an attempt by commies and the Administration and George Soros to sabotage her campaign. Buddy, if there's one person the left wants running against Obama, it's Shelly Bachmann. I wouldn't be surprised if some lefties are donating to her.


High levels of cesium -- 4.6 times normal -- have been detected in beef from Fukushima Prefecture in Japan. This as reports come in that the country has been hit by another major quake.


Finally, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell restates his belief that stopping an Obama reelection is the "single most important thing we want to achieve." Not jobs, not the economy, but politics. I repeat what I said last week; if you think the GOP is working for you and you aren't a billionaire, then you're a chump.

Related articles

• Mitch McConnell, Rand Paul Forge Tentative Relationship (huffingtonpost.com)
• McConnell says 'a big deal' is off the table (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• TV SoundOff: Sunday Talking Heads (huffingtonpost.com)
• Quake jolts northeast Japan, no reports of damage (windsorstar.com)

Stories to Watch: 6/30/11

I'm heading over to Milwaukee for Summerfest tomorrow, so I'll be out most of the day. Might get a morning post in before I go, but that's not certain. Now here's the news...


Apparently, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is considering quitting after the debt limit debate has been settled.


Mitch McConnell invites the president to visit congress and get yelled at by Republicans. Shockingly, President Obama turns him down.


Steve Benen hits on one of my favorite subjects: the media sucks so hard. This time, the suckage comes in the form of reporting (and non-reporting) of legal battles over healthcare reform.


Bad news for the GOP: polling shows that Americans aren't buying their "death panel" BS.


Kansas tries to regulate abortion providers out of existence -- and will probably succeed. I guess "burdensome regulations" by "big government" are fine when Republicans are doing the over-regulation.


I guess Republicans are tired of humping Reagan's grave.


You know who's had a plan for a rightwing propaganda network since the Nixon administration? Would you believe Fox News' Roger Ailes?


Finally, Ohio seems to think they have a right to everyone else's water.

Stories to Watch: 5/27/11

Florida Gov. Rick Scott may be the most unpopular governor in the nation. It's easy to see why.


Painted into a corner by House Republican's worship of Paul Ryan's Medicare scheme, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell finds some hostages to shoot -- and it's pretty much everybody.


Frankly, I wouldn't want to touch it either. Still, using an autopen to sign the extension of the PATRIOT Act into law doesn't really spare you the responsibility, President Obama. It's an awful dog of a law, it's everything you originally said you were against, and that's your name at the bottom.


I don't care what anyone else says, Charles Krauthammer is an idiot.


Our for sale elections just got a little more for sale.


Italian seismologists are to be tried for manslaughter for failing to predict an earthquake. You read that right and, yeah, it's just a stupid as you think it is.


Illinois GOP Rep. Joe Walsh is about to learn that saying, "There's nothing racist about this!" isn't the best way to hide an incredibly racist statement.


Finally, Senate GOP move to block a recess appointment of Elizabeth Warren to a consumer watchdog position. I want to be mad, but Democrats have done the same thing.

Related articles

• "Robo-signing" the PATRIOT Act (emptywheel.firedoglake.com)
• Patriot Act extension clears both houses | Philadelphia Inquirer | 2011-05-27 - Philadelphia Inquirer (news.google.com)
• U.S. Congress Passes Extension of Patriot Act Wiretap Power - San Francisco Chronicle (news.google.com)
• Rise of the machines: Autopen puts bill into law, and touches off debate (whitehouse.blogs.cnn.com)

Stories to Watch: 1/25/11

Day two of my sourdough starter's life. It's what I'd describe as goopy or gloppy -- choose your own Americanism for "having the consistency of a gelatinous blob." And it's already smelling a little boozy. I thought I might wind up going to full five days with this, but it may just be that I can get away with two. We'll see tomorrow. No bubbling, so not ready. Now here's the news...


Mitch McConnell's definition of "bipartisanship."


Not the best news I've heard all day: President Obama nominates former Recording Industry Association of America lawyer Donald Verrilli Jr. to be solicitor general. The problem: Verrilli's job at the RIAA was to be their copyright cop. Now, he'll be the government's copyright cop. Someone explain to me why, since copyright infringement is a matter solved by civil suits, the US government is going to spend money policing private industry's copyrights? There's nothing in it for you, there's nothing in it for me, but it's another free ride for big corporations.

Oh no, don't reach into your own pocket to pay for that lawsuit, Mr. Recording Industry Exec. The taxpayer will get this one. And the next one. And the next one...


Rahm Emanuel is back on the Chicago Mayoral ballot -- for now. Clearly, this is the worst thing ever. Early voting begins Monday.


According to ABC's Jake Tapper, the president will call for "partial budget freeze and earmark ban tonight." Something about that sounds really bad to me. Probably the "partial" part. I'm guessing it's the part that helps average Americans, because Republicans would demand no less. Get other spoilers here.


Finally, CNN and the Tea Party are having a very public affair. CNN will air Michele Bachmann's "response" to the SOTU. All the other networks -- ABC, NBC, CBS, and even Fox -- won't. I guess they want to leave the two lovebirds alone with each other.

Stories to Watch: 1/23/11

I've been going crazy with the bread machine lately. Made a loaf of white that was really crusty and some whole wheat dinner rolls. Sometime next week, deep dish pizza. Now here's the news...


Record a cop, go to prison.


Obama to stress centrism in State of the Union address, because wandering down the middle of the road's been working so great for him. Mitch McConnell preemptively refuses to follow suit.


Clarence Thomas has himself a little ethical -- and legal -- problem. But c'mon, can we really expect a Supreme Court Justice to know ever jot and tittle of the law?


In related news, Thomas and Scalia share another ethical problem.


Vermont may eliminate "corporate personhood."


WikiLeaks has released only 1% of the diplomatic cables they have. So much for the idea that they're just publishing stuff willy-nilly.


Finally, it's an ego explosion: Michelle Bachmann to deliver her own State of the Union response, regardless of who her party has chosen to do it.