Inspire Political Discourse

Will 2010 rival 1994 as a debacle for the Dems?

According to Time magazine, perhaps not. A summary of the reasoning behind the article:

“At a time when Republicans should be celebrating their momentum, Steele is stealing headlines — and not in a good way.

In my opinion, this will not have much of an effect. While it's fun to kick Steele and the RNC around, I don't think that their shenanigans will do much to affect the vote. Republicans aren't going to vote Democratic because of it. Although, it could affect the motivation of Republicans when they consider whether or not to vote at all in midterm elections.

David Plouffe Takes Aim at the New Leader of the GOP

:: David Plouffe provides some perspective for the party of "NO!" on their choice of Rush Limbaugh-aka-the-sphereazoid-sleazy-manhood-cruncher-former?-druggie-I-hope-Obama-fails-right-wing-radio-show-lunatic, as their new leader.

Aren't you people (Republicans) embarrassed? For gawd's sake, the GOP has become a party ruled by 6-year-olds! From The Washington Post:

The 2008 election sent many messages. At the top: Americans wanted to turn the page on the politics of division and partisan pettiness, and they wanted a government -- and country -- that would put the middle class first.

Watching the Republicans operate this past month, it would appear that they missed that unmistakable signal.

Instead, Rush Limbaugh has become their leader.

Limbaugh, of course, told his radio listeners that he's rooting for President Obama to fail -- and hoping the president's ideas for bolstering our economy fail with him. For many Americans, hungry for leadership and cooperation, this sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard. When Limbaugh reiterated the sentiment this weekend, hundreds of Republican conservatives cheered him on. But instead of rebuking the radio personality or charting their own course, Republican leaders in Washington are paralyzed with fear of crossing their leader. Less than 24 hours after committing the unforgivable sin of criticizing Limbaugh, RNC Chairman Michael Steele felt compelled to publicly apologize. He was not the first and will certainly not be the last.

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WATCH: Rush Limbaugh Versus Michael Steele

:: Steele, annoyed by CNN's D.L. Hughley, who referred to radio host Rush Limbaugh as "the de facto leader of the Republican party", says "NOT. I am the defacto leader of the Republican party."
Steele goes on to say that Limbaugh is nothing more than an "entertainer" whose radio broadcast is "incendiary" and "ugly".

As was predictable, Limbaugh responded like the puffed-up pig he is, on his radio show today.

From HUFFPOST:

"So I am an entertainer and I have 20 million listeners because of my great song and dance routine," Limbaugh said. "Michael Steele, you are head of the Republican National Committee. You are not head of the Republican party. Tens of millions of conservatives and Republicans have nothing to do with the Republican National Committee...and when you call them asking for money, they hang up on you."

"I hope that changes," Limbaugh continued. "It's time, Mr. Steele, for you to go behind the scenes and start doing the work that you were elected to do instead of being some talking-head media star."

What a completely laughable entity the GOP has become.

Robert Gibbs' comments on Limbaugh today.
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Update on RNC Chair Race

:: UPDATE - 4:04PM:  Michael Steele will be the next RNC chairman, and the RNC's first African-American chairman.

:: The RNC is today electing a new chairman, with the battle seemingly between social and fiscal conservatives. Sprinkle on some issues involving race, it becomes more complicated.

Yesterday, Chip Saltzman withdrew from the race for the chairmanship of the RNC after another of his favorite little tunes was exposed, from the same cd that Saltzman distributed previously, which contained the racist song, "Barack, the Magic Negro".  This song, "The Star Spanglish Banner", is now under fire from enraged immigration groups. By the way, both songs were written by the same author, Paul Shankin.

Today, Mike Duncan, the current chairman of the RNC, appointed by Bush in 2007, has withdrawn from the race, after the third ballot,

In the lead currently is Katon Dawson, a social conservative, but MIchael Steele, the former lt. governor of Maryland, a fiscal conservative, and an African-American, is close behind him.

From HuffPost- bolding is mine:

This is shaping up to be a new direction v. social conservative showdown, one with racial components as well: Steele is African-American while Dawson once belonged to a white's only country club. The deciding factor, it seems, will be whom Anuzis and Blackwell instruct their backers to support.

UPDATE - 4:00PM: Steele is now ahead by a margin of 10 votes in the 5th ballot, and is now 6 votes away from the 85 needed for victory.

UPDATE - 4:00PM: Michael Steele is the next RNC chairman; he won the final ballot by 91-77. The RNC's first African-American chairman.

Political News Summary - Tuesday, December 16, 2008

:: IPD Daily Cartoon Find.

 
Bob Lang/It's only money

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A final tally from the RNC on Palin's campaign spending.

Politico reported today on the latest RNC expense reports, which show that in total, approximately $180,000 was spent on personal "accessories" for Palin and her family during the campaign.

What is of real note, is that recently, Palin has been telling a huge lie about the clothing purchased for her by the RNC, caught on tape in network interviews stating that she only wore those clothes for three days during the GOP convention. She really is one of the dimmest bulbs to happen upon the political scene in my lifetime.   

“Salons and spas, including $350 at Escape Skin Care and Day Spa in New York, were the latest unusual expenses to appear in the Republican National Committee’s coordinated expenses account with the McCain-Palin campaign, according to November reports released late Thursday.
Overall, the RNC has reported spending a total of about $180,000 for clothes and various accessories for the family of vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, Federal Election Commission records show.”  POLITICO

According to the NYT, the latest RNC report also reports additional $ paid to Palin stylists. In total, a whopping $110,000 was spent on Palin's stylist, for the stylist's work during a two-month period of time. Unbelievable.

“Ms. Palin’s makeup artist, Amy Strozzi — who was nominated for an Emmy award for her cosmetics work on the television show “So You Think You Can Dance?” — was paid $32,400 by Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign between Oct. 16 and Nov. 24, the period covered by the most recent reports filed with the commission.

This amount came on top of the $36,000 she had already been paid in previous reports, dating back to September.

In addition, Ms. Palin’s traveling hair stylist, Angela Lew, was paid a total of $42,225, with $23,400 coming during the period covered by the latest reports to the commission, which were due at midnight on Thursday.”

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A Picture of the Real Sarah Palin Emerges and it's Worse Than We Knew

 
As more secrets about Sarah Palin begin to emerge, they paint a picture of a diva, more ignorant and self-absorbed than we had previously guessed or known.

Although reports out of Alaska early during her stint as John McCain's running mate claimed that she was a profligate spender (as in $50k to redecorate her office in Wasilla when she was the mayor), a woman who deals in cronyism (rewarding supporters, relatives, friends, and dealing harshly with critics), a religious wing-nut of the most scary kind (witches, beware, Palin & witchhunters), not much came close to the picture that has emerged in recent days.

As the McCain Campaign staffers have now been unleashed, the Palin bashing has grown, and is painting a highly unflattering picture of the woman who would be Evita.

According to Fox News, who spoke with campaign staffers, Palin:

• Not only did not know who NAFTA countries were, but could not understand that Africa is a continent and not a country.
• Could not name the countries in North America. 
• She refused help to prepare for her interview with Couric, and then blamed her staff for her failures, specifically Nicolle Wallace.
• After the Couric interview, she turned on campaign staff, throwing tantrums nasty enough (a daily occurrence after she viewed her press clippings) that she frequently reduced these veteran politicos to tears.
• She succeeding in getting at least one McCain staffer fired, McCain's senior foreign policy adviser, when he attacked other campaign staffers in defense of Palin a week before the election.

Watch the video clip from The O'Reilly Factor here.

And, as I reported earlier today, Newsweek's release of their Special Election Project 2008, provides us with some previously unknown details about the Palin wardrobe flap. Highlighting is mine.

NEWSWEEK has also learned that Palin's shopping spree at high-end department stores was more extensive than previously reported. While publicly supporting Palin, McCain's top advisers privately fumed at what they regarded as her outrageous profligacy. One senior aide said that Nicolle Wallace had told Palin to buy three suits for the convention and hire a stylist. But instead, the vice presidential nominee began buying for herself and her family—clothes and accessories from top stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. According to two knowledgeable sources, a vast majority of the clothes were bought by a wealthy donor, who was shocked when he got the bill. Palin also used low-level staffers to buy some of the clothes on their credit cards. The McCain campaign found out last week when the aides sought reimbursement. One aide estimated that she spent "tens of thousands" more than the reported $150,000, and that $20,000 to $40,000 went to buy clothes for her husband. Some articles of clothing have apparently been lost. An angry aide characterized the shopping spree as "Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast," and said the truth will eventually come out when the Republican Party audits its books.

RELATED ARTICLES & POSTS:

>Newsweek Outs Sarah Palin Regarding Her Shopping Spree
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Newsweek Outs Sarah Palin Regarding Her Shopping Spree

NEWSWEEK's Special Election Project is out, and the article will appear in the issue which hits the stands today.

In regard to Palin, a senior McCain campaign official told Newsweek that Nicolle Wallace had directed Palin to purchase three suits for the convention, and to hire a stylist. Palin apparently took advantage of the situation, and spent much more money than was originally reported. Just another example of Palin doing what Palin does best.........stupid.

From NEWSWEEK online:

Palin began buying for herself and her family—clothes and accessories from top stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. According to two knowledgeable sources, a vast majority of the clothes were bought by a wealthy donor, who was shocked when he got the bill. Palin also used low-level staffers to buy some of the clothes on their credit cards. The McCain campaign found out last week when the aides sought reimbursement. One aide estimated that she spent "tens of thousands" more than the reported $150,000, and that $20,000 to $40,000 went to buy clothes for her husband. Some articles of clothing have apparently been lost. An angry aide characterized the shopping spree as "Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast," and said the truth will eventually come out when the Republican Party audits its books.

McCain himself rarely spoke to Palin during the campaign, and aides kept him in the dark about the details of her spending on clothes because they were sure he would be offended. Palin asked to speak along with McCain at his Arizona concession speech Tuesday night, but campaign strategist Steve Schmidt vetoed the request.  [.....]

Palin was also successful in so riling up her crowds that the reports from the Secret Service showed a sharp increase in threats to President-elect Obama in September and early October.

Michelle Obama was shaken by the vituperative crowds and the hot rhetoric from the GOP candidates. "Why would they try to make people hate us?" Michelle asked a top campaign aide. [.....]

Sarah Palin should in no way be encouraged to run for national office again, in my opinion. She is completely unqualified and unworthy.

ACORN a Republican Set-Up?

Don’t Be Fooled: Republican Charges Against ACORN Are Bogus - AFL-CIO Blog

Magicians often talk about how they use diversion to trick audiences—keep them focused on something on the side while the real action they don’t want you to see is going on somewhere else. That’s what John McCain and the Republican Party are up to with their latest charges against the grassroots group ACORN.

Here are the facts:

• ACORN and Project Vote registered 1.3 million poor people, persons of color and young people, groups that generally vote for Democrats. To register this number of new voters, the groups hired 13,000 canvassers who went door to door in their neighborhoods. The Republicans especially don’t want these groups to vote in large numbers and are doing everything they can to suppress what could be a huge vote for the Democrats.
• ACORN has a tight system of checking voter registration forms. Staff call people

Read full article.