Obama Obliterates McCain, McConnell And The Republican Cabal For Undermining America

President Obama called out Mitch McConnell, John McCain, and all of the Senate Republicans who are actively trying to sabotage his foreign policy on the world stage.

Video:

Video Link

The President said:

Last comment I’m going to make on this. When I hear some, like Senator McCain recently, suggest that our Secretary of State, John Kerry, who served in the United States Senate, a Vietnam veteran, who’s provided exemplary service to this nation, is somehow less trustworthy in the interpretation of what’s in a political agreement than the Supreme Leader of Iran — that’s an indication of the degree to which partisanship has crossed all boundaries. And we’re seeing this again and again. We saw it with the letter by the 47 senators who communicated directly to the Supreme Leader of Iran — the person that they say can’t be trusted at all — warning him not to trust the United States government.

We have Mitch McConnell trying to tell the world, oh, don’t have confidence in the U.S. government’s abilities to fulfill any climate change pledge that we might make. And now we have a senator suggesting that our Secretary of State is purposely misinterpreting the deal and giving the Supreme Leader of Iran the benefit of the doubt in the interpretations.

That’s not how we’re supposed to run foreign policy, regardless of who’s President or Secretary of State. We can have arguments, and there are legitimate arguments to be had. I understand why people might be mistrustful of Iran. I understand why people might oppose the deal — although the reason is not because this is a bad deal per se, but they just don’t trust any deal with Iran, and may prefer to take a military approach to it.

But when you start getting to the point where you are actively communicating that the United States government and our Secretary of State is somehow spinning presentations in a negotiation with a foreign power, particularly one that you say is your enemy, that’s a problem. It needs to stop.

The President directly called out the Majority Leader of the Senate and the 47 Republican senators who signed the letter to Iran for actively trying to undermine his foreign policy.

President Obama was correct. This does need to stop, but it won’t because in part the Republican tactics are trying to ruin American foreign policy ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Republicans have shattered the rule that partisan politics stop at the U.S. border.

Republicans think that their path to the White House in 2016 is to sabotage American foreign policy. President Obama is standing up and exposing what the opposition is trying to do. Obama isn’t sitting back and taking it. The message to McConnell, McCain, and others is that this president is going to finish out his time in office swinging.

Lindsey Graham Slams Republican Policies Slowing The Economy

Lindsey Graham explains why wingnut policies are just wrong.

Republican Policies Slowing The Economy

Jeb Bush Takes a Swing at Obama Administration, Forgets His Brother Was Pretender

From the "Public Enemies" Department:

On the eve of Hillary Clinton’s much-anticipated announcement, it seems every announced and speculative Republican cabal candidate for pretender is fighting for a ray of sunlight. Former Florida governor…

Jeb Bush: Another Idiot Pretender

The Truth Be Told

‘You have to be ready to eliminate the threat’: Fearmongering and Republican Cabal groveling at NRA convention

At NRA convention, potential Republican cabal hopefuls held forth on ISIL, the bible, terrorism and Hillary Clinton.

Fearmongering and Republican Cabal groveling at NRA convention

Koch Brothers Astroturf Director Fails Again With “Millions Of Montanans” Tweet

Montanans may not be fans of President Obama, but they also are suspicious of organizations funded by out of state billionaires.…

On Thursday, Americans for Prosperity’s (AFP) Montana State Director, Zach Lahn, responded to the state House passing a Medicaid expansion bill, by tweeting:

We are deeply disappointed in the legislature’s decision tonight to expand Medicaid. This decision stands directly against the voices of millions of Montanans who have made it clear that they do not want more Obamacare.

Of course, in his haste to tweet his outrage about Montana lawmakers supporting healthcare for the working poor, Mr. Lahn got carried away since the entire Montana population is just over one million people. So there cannot be millions of Montanans who oppose Obamacare, simply because there are not millions of Montanans. Furthermore, of the tens of thousands of Montanans (not millions) that actually exist, a significant percentage support Obamacare.

Perhaps we can excuse Mr. Lahn’s ignorance as Montana’s State Director of AFP because the state’s grassroots leader hasn’t actually lived in the state long enough to have roots. He came over from Colorado, where he had his “Joe the Plumber” moment, grilling Barack Obama about the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2009, when Lahn was a student at the University of Colorado in Boulder.

Although AFP bills itself as a grassroots political advocacy group, it is really an astroturf group, funded by the billionaire Koch brothers to try to pass legislation favorable to their economic interests. They have three field offices set up in Montana, but so far their efforts seem to be stumbling in the Big Sky country, under the direction of Lahn.

The MillionsOfMontanans hashtag has been trending on Twitter, mocking the AFP Director’s ignorance about the state’s population. Even Montana Governor Steve Bullock and Senator Jon Tester have sent out humorous tweets referencing the gaffe.

But the group has run into more than just snarky Twitter opposition. In February, a raucous crowd disrupted an AFP-sponsored “Healthcare Town Hall” in Kalispell, Montana, giving Lahn an earful for his efforts to target a Republican lawmaker, who wasn’t dutifully swallowing the party line on voting down Medicaid expansion.

What the Koch Brothers don’t seem to realize is that although many red state residents may not be fans of President Obama, they also are deeply suspicious of phony grassroots organizations funded by out of state billionaires. Out of state poseurs pretending to be grassroots advocates are easy to spot, especially when they fail basic facts. If the Koch Industries-funded Americans for Prosperity organization wants to make any headway in Montana, they should probably find a new leader from the millions of Montanans who could replace their current spokesmen. Or rather, from the tens of thousands of Montanans who could.

Yeah, Right

Rand Paul Tells 95% White Republican Crowd That Democrats Have Failed Minorities

Rand Paul told minorities that the Democratic Party has failed them while speaking to a crowd that was 95% white in Nevada.

The dean of Nevada political coverage Jon Ralston tweeted:

Jon Ralston @RalstonReports 

.@randpaul says Dems have failed minorities, points out income gaps, states run by Dems. By coincidence, this crowd is 95 percent white.

3:28 PM - 11 Apr 2015

Ralston also tweeted a picture of the crowd as Paul made his entrance:

Jon Ralston @RalstonReports

It's Liberty Time! Baba O'Reilly playing!

3:16 PM - 11 Apr 2015

The problem is obvious. Rand Paul is telling a crowd that is almost all white that the Democratic Party has failed minorities. Now is a good time to point out that Rand is selling himself as the candidate that can attract minorities and young voters. What was missing from the crowd in his speech today? Minorities and young voters.

The mainstream media are doing their best to sell Rand Paul as a legitimate candidate, just like they tried to sell Ted Cruz as a legitimate candidate after he jumped into the 2016 presidential race. This is part of the flavor of the week coverage that all of the Republican presidential candidates have been getting since the 2012 election cycle.

Rand Paul is telling white Republicans what they want to hear about Democrats and minorities. If this is Paul’s version of attracting minority voters, it isn’t going to end well.

The Republican solution for minorities is the same as it is for the rest of the country that isn’t rich. You’re on your own. Paul disguises his corporatist agenda with talk of liberty and freedom. A white candidate was talking to white voters about how the opposition party has failed minority voters is the perfect encapsulation of everything that is wrong with the Republican Party.

Even Republican and Independent Women Have a Serious Problem with Rand Paul

Rand Paul’s problems with women aren’t imaginary and contrary to the conservative narrative after his disastrous announcement rollout, these problems with women were not manufactured by the Democratic Party.

Just 11% of Republican and Independent women said they would seriously consider supporting Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) in a new Bloomberg Politics national poll.

Just 11 percent of Republican and independent women in the poll said they’d seriously consider supporting Paul, a U.S. senator from Kentucky who announced his presidential bid last week, compared to 22 percent of men. No other Republican contender has a worse spread.

In the age of legitimate rape and binders full of women, it’s quite an achievement to have a worse spread with women than any other Republican, but the Republican Senator built that the old-fashioned way, with hard work and diligence. It didn’t help when Paul referred to women’s rights “details” in an attempt to dodge a question asking if he would support exceptions for his abortion position for women who were raped or if the life of the mother was at risk.

However, “The news is not all bad for Paul, and in fact, when Republicans and independents were asked whom they would potentially consider supporting, Paul topped the field with 58 percent.”

So the candidate who doesn’t have a chance of winning a general election tops the field with Republicans and Independents. That sounds about right for the modern day Republican Party.

The King of the GOP Rush Limbaugh, the man who calls their platform and humiliates those who dare to disagree, blamed Savannah Guthrie for Rand Paul’s condescending and petulant behavior toward female journalists, saying she is a “radical” “partisan firebrand that anybody else on the left is.”

Rush also informed his listeners that the War on Women is not real and the blowback against Paul is all part of the Democrats and the media switching from race wars to gender wars:

This is the beginning of the process whereby the Democrats and the Drive-By Media switch from the race wars that have been going on to the gender wars. It’s an attempt, in a mild way — maybe not so mild — to keep alive (or maybe “revive” would be the word) the so-called Republican War on Women. Now, the fact is, there is no gender war. There never was a War on Women. It doesn’t exist. The Republican Party does not hate women. It’s absolutely asinine.

So says Rush, but survey (aka, closer to reality) disagrees.

According to Rush, the Democrats manufactured the fact that women didn’t like seeing Rand Paul tell Savannah Guthrie how to do her job:

But that’s what they are now trying to set up, and that is for the benefit of Hillary Clinton. They want to have husbands fighting wives by the end of all of this. Somewhere in the upper levels of the Democrat Regime, the Democrat Party, the message has gone out: “Race is out and gender is in because Hillary is a white woman,” and that’s what this really is all about. F. Chuck Todd, the first thing he did was come to her defense. “Oh, a poor defenseless woman!”

The folks at Glenn Beck’s the Blaze were quick to refuse to hold the Senator responsible for his own behavior, whining immediately, “Dems’ Battle Plan Against Rand Paul: Say That He Has a Problem With Women”.

And it wasn’t just the fringe. The Huffington Post covered Fox News laughing about the idea that Rand Paul has a problem with women:

Fox News had a good laugh Thursday night at the accusation that Kentucky senator and 2016 presidential candidate Rand Paul is short-tempered with female interviewers.
Host Megyn Kelly defended Paul, saying that critics are trying to turn Paul’s general problem with media interviews into a “gender issue.”

Yes, it’s always the “critics” and the “liberal media” and the “Dems” who are out to get Republicans by reporting or using facts against them.

It is a fact that Senator Rand Paul is “testy” (aka, petulant) with the media. But he definitely looked like a petulant teenager when he blamed Savannah Guthrie for reading his own positions out loud and asking him to account for the shifts. He looked even worse when he instructed her about how to do her job, a job he has never done – while live, on the air. He used his presumed superiority over her to talk down to her as if she were the idiot in the room. (Hint: She was not.)

Republicans can pretend they don’t have issues with women all they want. Women do not enjoy watching Savannah Guthrie get mansplained, they don’t enjoy sexism in the work place, and they aren’t claiming to be victims. Holding Rand Paul accountable for his behavior is just what grown ups do. His behavior was offensive to many women. Women are not impressed. The polls show it.

Even Republican and Independent women are not impressed. So Republicans can rail against reality all they want. Railing ain’t winning.

Poll Finds Americans Overwhelmingly Oppose Religious Based Anti-Gay Bigotry

A solid majority of Americans oppose discrimination against gays and lesbians, even if it is based on religious beliefs.…

A rainbow for LGBT rights

A Reuters Poll conducted from April 6-8, 2015 and released on Thursday, finds that a solid majority of Americans oppose discrimination against gays and lesbians, even if it is based on religious beliefs. By nearly a 2 to 1 margin, Americans do not think religious conviction should be a justification for discrimination.

The Reuters poll found that by a 55-27 percent margin, Americans do not believe businesses should have the right to refuse to hire certain groups of people based on their religious beliefs. By a very similar 54-28 margin, Americans do not support the right of businesses to refuse services to certain categories of people based on religious objections. In plain English, Americans do not approve of discrimination even if it is disguised by the euphemism “religious freedom”.

Furthermore, the Reuters poll found that Americans now strongly approve of allowing same-sex couples to marry, with 52 percent in favor to just 32 percent against. 37 states currently permit same-sex marriages, but that number is likely to continue to increase as the tide continues to roll over the reactionary forces of bigotry, one state at a time. 55 percent of the respondents to the Reuters poll believe states that do not recognize same-sex marriages still should be required to honor legal marriages performed in other states.

Defenders of so-called religious freedom laws often try to portray supporters of LGBT equality as radical activists persecuting Christians. In Republican circles, equality advocates are derided as being out of touch with American values. However, the cultural reactionaries who support discrimination against gays and lesbians are actually the ones who are out of touch with contemporary American values.

The Republican Party can continue to defend the indefensible, but anti-gay bigotry is no longer a winning issue for them in the United States. Perhaps ambitious Republican politicians are slow to recognize the shifting political landscape under their feet. They are still stuck in the politics of a decade ago, when Karl Rove and other Republican strategists used anti-gay ballot measures as a way to get throngs of Republican voters to the polls. The strategy worked pretty well in 2004, when most Americans were opposed to gay marriage (62-30 percent against, according to a Wall Street Journal/NBC News Poll in 2004), but it no longer pays dividends for the GOP.

Republicans can continue to pretend that they speak for most Americans when they defend “Bible-based” bigotry. However, the reality is that on LGBT rights, Republicans don’t speak for most Americans. The Republican Party’s views are antiquated. Americans believe in non-discrimination, not the right to discriminate based on religious beliefs.

Iowa man who sent ‘ignorant childish bullshit’ letter containing fake ‘anthrax’ to Des Moines gay bar arrested

“I opened it up, white powder popped out, and it was an inflammatory letter. ‘Hate fags, gonna blow this up, gonna blow that up, gonna roast you all after pride’,” Eikleberry explained. “Just ignorant childish bullshit.”

Ignorant Iowa Man Arrested

Dana Bash Grills Rand Paul For Libertarian Hypocrisy: Freedom Ends 'When It Comes To Marriage'

Republican pretender candidate Rand Paul tried in a recent interview to square his libertarian ideology with his desire to appeal to conservative voters who do not approve of same-sex marriage.

Rand Paul Hypocrisy

S.C. Says Constitution Allows Discrimination Against Women So Gay Discrimination Is Okay

The crux of South Carolina's argument in support of discriminating against gays is that if it constitutionally permissible to discriminate against women, then it is perfectly legal to…

Shame is a human emotion manifest by a painful feeling arising from the consciousness of something dishonorable, improper, or ridiculous done by oneself. There are human beings who lack that feeling and are typically blatant racists or, really, any kind of blatant bigot. Americans have seen a preponderance of shameless bigots since the people elected an African American man as President, and besides openly championing discrimination against people of color, the LGBT community, and non-Christians, women have been singled out as pariahs the religious patriarchs have openly targeted for second class status.

Since it has become a badge of honor among Republicans to blatantly discriminate against women in the workplace, reproductive rights, access to healthcare, and equal rights, it was little surprise that South Carolina Republicans used an anti-women agenda as reason to discriminate against gays. As the Supreme Court is beginning to hear arguments for and against gays and lesbians marrying the person they love, different groups on each side of the argument have filed ‘amicus briefs’ with the Court advocating for a ruling in their favor.

South Carolina Republicans joined the fray and filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court defending their right to openly discriminate against the gay community based on the long history of Republicans discriminating against women. The crux of South Carolina’s argument in support of discriminating against gays is that if it constitutionally permissible to discriminate against women, then it is perfectly legal to discriminate against gays. Where most people would never admit they target women for discrimination, and get away with it, South Carolina Republicans shamelessly used it as legal precedent to express their religion-based bigotry toward the gay community.

In the amicus brief filed by South Carolina’s attorney general against gays having the right to marry the person they love, the bigot argued that the High Court should follow the “original sexist intent” of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment. He claims the authors of the 14th Amendment intended to maintain discriminatory laws against women being equal with men under the law, so it is all the legal precedent religious bigots need to discriminate against gays. Yes, it is as despicable an argument as any evangelical bigot has come up with thus far, but it is also relatively accurate; if it was still 1868.

The problem is that when the 14th Amendment became part of the Constitution, it did not include equality for women any more than it provided true equality under the law for people of color. In a sense, if the so-called ‘constitutional originalists‘ on the High Court rule according to what religious patriarchs intended in the 14th Amendment, then yes, gays have no more claim to equal rights under the law in 2015 than women did in 1868. According to congressional records, the dirty patriarchs drafting the amendment were fiercely adamant that according to the 10th Amendment, states could “not be forced to recognize married women as independent human beings with rights of their own.” They were the subservient property of their husbands and simple birth machines relegated to cleaning chamber pots and preparing meals.

The primary author of the amendment, a patriarchal douchebag named John Bingham gave his unwavering assurance to other patriarchal congressmen that they “need not be alarmed that the amendment would alter the ‘condition’ of married women.” In fact, another anti-woman cretin, Samuel Shellagarger, promised that under the amendment’s ‘equal protection‘ clause, the 10th Amendment still guaranteed that “states could deprive women of the right to sue, enter into contracts, or testify in a court of law;” women were already denied the right to vote because of their “condition.”

Since the 14th Amendment has been in effect, the High Court has often held that states laws putting women at a clear disadvantage receive “heightened scrutiny” under the equal protection clause; including the current conservative court that one hopes would strike down laws forbidding married women from owning property, voting, or entering into legal contracts. However, one seriously wonders how much the current conservative patriarchs on the Court are willing to allow women, much less gays, their equal rights according to recent rulings that disallowed women from filing lawsuits as a class, or use contraceptives without their evangelical and Catholic employers’ permission.

The frightening aspect of how the conservatives on the court interpret South Carolina’s amicus brief is that they may adopt and restore the sexist and patriarchal “originalist” interpretation of the 14th Amendment and not only disallow gays from enjoying equal protections under the law, but open the door for a rash of Republican state-sponsored sexism the likes American women have never witnessed.

It is worth noting that most Republicans do not support women choosing their own reproductive rights, receiving equal pay for equal work or even entering the workforce, and in many cases believe women should be sequestered at home in constant birthing mode and in servitude to the man of the house. These beliefs did not originate with the authors of the 14th Amendment, they are longstanding biblical principles Republicans still adhere to in 21st Century America.

That South Carolina would have the temerity to use an originalist interpretation of the 14th Amendment, and its clearly anti-women tenets, as precedent to discriminate against the gay community is not only shameless, it informs just how bigoted Republicans are toward gays. One hopes the conservatives on the Supreme Court reject South Carolina’s blatantly anti-women argument to justify discriminating against LGBT people, but with the so-called “constitutional originalists” on the Court, it is entirely possible they will reject the “broader constitutional principles” of the 14th Amendment and adopt the 1868 concept that, Hell no, all Americans are not equal under the law; particularly if they are women or gay.

Idaho Republicans kill bill to track child support deadbeats over fears of Sharia law

Republicans agreed, including Rep. Kathy Sims (R) who said, “We don’t need to invite foreign law in Idaho,” leading the House Judiciary and Rules Committee to shoot the bill down.

Idaho Republicans Are Morons

'Christians', Walmart and Murder

Crazy video shows armed 'christian' musicians brawling each other and police in fight that left one dead

The Daily Drift

Hey, wingnuts, yeah we're talking to you ...!  

 

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This Brilliant Moment In Jamaica Proves President Obama Has Zero Fucks Left

Obama with no fucks left to give = the best Obama

Read more

Another Obamacare Win

Montana’s Republican-controlled House voted Thursday, 54-46, to approve federal subsidies for Medicaid expansion. Although Democrats are outnumbered 59-41 in the Montana House, a unified Democratic caucus joined forces with 13 Republicans who defected from their party’s leadership, to push Senate Bill 405 through the House chamber. The bill would expand Medicaid coverage to between 27,000 and 46,000 low-income Montanans who earn less than 138 percent of the federal poverty level.

All 41 House Democrats approved the Medicaid expansion. Republicans opposed it 46-13, but the 13 defectors were enough to tip the balance to pass the measure. House Republican leaders tried to kill the bill, but they were unable to keep their party unified in opposition. One defector, Rep. Geraldine Custer (R-Forsyth) argued in defense of the bill, noting that its main beneficiaries would be the working poor. Custer stated:

They (the working poor) are not people who are lying on the couch, waiting for a handout. Why should they be penalized and not able to afford health care?…This bill is a Montana solution for the Montana people who are too rich for (current) Medicaid but too poor for (help from) the Affordable Care Act.

Another Republican proponent, Rob Cook, who represents the rural community of Conrad, urged fellow Republicans to support the measure. Cook implored his colleagues:

I think this is the right thing to do, it’s the right time to do it. Let’s pass this bill.

A dozen Republicans listened and did just that.

The bill, as amended by the House is expected to pass the State Senate, and be sent to the desk of Montana’s Democratic Governor Steve Bullock. While Bullock has not yet identified whether or not he will sign the bill, his top health adviser has testified in favor of SB 405 in legislative committee hearings, so supporters of Medicaid expansion have good reason to be optimistic.

Medicaid expansion is a common sense idea that brings affordable health care to the working poor who live paycheck to paycheck to make ends meet and have little left over to cover the costs of health care. The Montana plan would lock premiums in at two percent of the recipient’s income. It is the kind of common sense, compassionate approach to health care that the Republican Party leadership has rejected in state after state.

Yet, in several states, including Montana, a small number of Republicans have defected from the toxic ideology of the Tea Party leadership. By joining Democrats in putting their constituents ahead of anti-government party orthodoxy, 13 Montana Republicans may have just helped tens of thousands of residents qualify for affordable health care under Medicaid expansion. In a state as red as Montana, that is no small accomplishment.

Democrat Martin O’Malley Says Treasonous Republicans Shouldn’t Be In U.S. Government

In an interview with Iowa Public Television’s Iowa Press, former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley said that those who hate President Obama more than they hate the Ayatollah probably shouldn’t be serving in U.S. government.

Before the show airs, Iowa Press tweeted out one big shot that the former Maryland governor took at the Republicans who tried to sabotage the Iran nuclear deal.

Iowa Press tweeted:

Iowa Press        ✔ @IowaPress 

"If you hate the POTUS more than you hate the Ayatollah, then you probably shouldn't be in the government of the U.S." @GovernorOMalley

Former Gov. O’Malley spoke the truth. If policy positions and behavior are dictated by hatred of the President, then that individual has no business being in government. Unfortunately, Republicans have run in the two midterm elections on a platform of opposing and obstructing President Obama.

O’Malley has been visiting the early primary states and laying the groundwork for a run against Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary for years. His campaign will be that of a definite underdog. Progressive activists continue to dream of an Elizabeth Warren campaign that has close to no chance of happening. Bernie Sanders looks willing to run, but his entry into the race will depend on if he can raise enough money and support for his candidacy.

Former Sen. Jim Webb has been toying with the idea of running, but it is possible that the only definite challenge that Clinton will have for the Democratic nomination could come from O’Malley. He may have less than a puncher’s chance, but O’Malley echoed the feelings of many Democrats who are tired of Republicans who put Obama hate first and country last.

Democrats Blow Up McConnell’s Wingnut Agenda By Demanding Votes On Popular Liberal Issues

Nine Senate Democrats are blowing up McConnell’s wingnut agenda by demanding votes on four popular liberal issues.

In a letter to McConnell, nine Senate Democrats (Sens. Durbin, Murray, Wyden, Shaheen, Brown, Schumer, Casey, Schatz, Franken) called for votes on liberal issued that were popular during the Senate’s budget vote-a-rama:

As you know, amendments to the budget that are voted on during vote-a-rama do not have the force of law. However, a bipartisan majority vote on an amendment can be an important mark of whether or not a certain policy can pass the Senate with a 60 vote affirmative threshold. Too often, the budget vote-a-rama is characterized as a partisan exercise that leaves no lasting policy impact. Working with you, we hope to make this Budget vote-a-rama different. While we strongly oppose the underlying Senate Republican budget and the negative impacts it would have on middle-class and working families, we believe the following four amendments represent policies that deserve a vote in this Congress.

Paid Sick Leave (passed 61-39) – Amendment No. 798 to improve workplace benefits and reduce health care costs, which may include measures to allow Americans to earn paid sick time to address their own health needs and the health needs of their families, and to promote equal employment opportunities.

Ending Discrimination Against Pregnant Workers (passed 100-0) – Amendment No. 632 to increase employment opportunities and prevent employment discrimination, which may include measures to prevent employment discrimination against pregnant workers, to provide pregnant workers with a right to workplace accommodations, and to ensure that employers comply with requirements regarding such workplace accommodations for pregnant workers.

Equal Access to Benefits for Same-Sex Couples (passed 57-43) – Amendment No. 1063 to ensuring all legally married same-sex spouses have equal access to the Social Security and veterans benefits they have earned and receive equal treatment under the law pursuant to the Constitution of the United States.

Middle-Class Tax Cuts (passed 73-27) – Amendment No. 968 to enacting middle class tax relief, including extending and expanding refundable tax credits, such as tax provisions and policies included in legislation like the Working Families Tax Relief Act, American Opportunity Tax Credit Permanence and Consolidation Act, Helping Working Families Afford Child Care Act, or the 21st Century Worker Tax Cut Act.

Each of the issues that the Democrats listed have proven their popularity in the Senate. Three of the four have already met the 60 vote threshold for passage.

Issues like an end to discrimination against pregnant workers, paid sick leave, and middle-class tax cuts would be huge for the majority of the country. Equal access to benefits for same-sex couples would also be big, but if the budget votes are a guide, that issue might come up a vote or three short of passage.

Senate Democrats are aggressively seizing the agenda, and push Mitch McConnell’s dream of a Koch driven Senate off to the side. Democrats know that McConnell is getting desperate to pass legislation, and they are taking advantage of the Majority Leader’s flailing by offering up several issues that would pass if legislation were brought to the floor for a vote.

The letter to McConnell is more proof that Republicans may hold the Senate majority, but it’s Democrats who are driving the agenda.

The Republican Strategy of Stupidity

by Chad R. MacDonald

Not only have Republicans embraced the power of stupid, they're stealing elections with it

Remember Ronald Reagan? Republicans recall Ronnie reverently. But in reality? Ronald Reagan was constantly mocked for his stupidity. Same with George W. Bush. While Democrats are certainly not immune from saying or doing stupid things, Republicans far outstrip them in this regard. Oh, you need examples? Sure, here you go:
“The best thing about the Earth is if you poke holes in it oil and gas come out.” ~ Texas Rep. Steve Stockman
“Wanting a white Republican president doesn’t make you racist, it just makes you American.” ~ Failed Congressional Candidate Joe “The Plumber” Wurzelbacher
“When a physician removes a child from a woman, that is the largest organ in a body.” ~ Alabama state Rep. Mary Sue McClurkin
“The middle class. Since when in America do we have classes? That’s Marxism talk.” ~ Perennial Presidential contender Rick Santorum
“But obviously, we’ve got to stand with our North Korean allies.” ~ Sarah Palin
It’s hard to comprehend ignorance being held up as a virtue, but Republicans have increasingly been doing just that. How many conservative climate change deniers qualify their rants with, “I’m not a scientist, but…” How many tirades against women’s health have included, “I’m not a doctor, but..”
An excellent example of this can be found in the statements of Arizona Senator Jon Kyl in 2011. He claimed over 90% of Planned Parenthood’s business was abortion related, when in reality the number was actually about 3%. When his error was pointed out, his reply was that his words weren’t meant as a “factual statement.”
Stupidity and ignorance are bad enough on their own, but when applied willfully, they become terribly dangerous. Blocking out reality will only ever result in great harm to a nation and its people. But not only do Republicans refuse to relent with their willing ignorance, they take pride it it.
“If it hurts a bunch of lazy blacks that want the government to give them everything, so be it.” – North Carolina GOP Executive Committee member Don Yelton on NC’s voter ID law
It’s hard to conceive of anyone more dangerous than someone who is proud of their ignorance. This is someone impossible to reason with. They dismiss whatever they don’t want to hear, regardless of whether it’s true or not. They aren’t discussing anything, they’re telling you how they want things. They are absolutely uncompromising, and reality does not sway them. This fits the clinical definition of insanity.
“We’re not going to be disrespected. We have to get something out of this. And I don’t know what that even is.” – Indiana Rep. Marlin Stutzman on the GOP’s government shutdown
Now this is not a new problem in America, anti-intellectualism has always been around, and isn’t always a bad thing. There’s a charming element to the folksy down-home rhetoric that the ignorant are trying to mirror. The problem lies in taking it too far. You can’t get a diploma recounting old wives tales. You’ll limit your horizons that way, and if you’re an elected official, you’ll limit your nation’s as well.
“When I hear politicians talk about restoring faith in government . . . No, no, no, no, no. That is the wrong solution!” – Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson

Limiting America has very much been the Republican agenda, that much is clear. Mitch McConnell admitted as much when he said the GOP’s primary goal would be to limit President Obama to one term. While they failed at that, conservatives piled up false scandal after false scandal while constantly pumping the brakes on as much progress as they could. The Midterms told Republicans that their obstructionism was working, so we can expect far more of the same. This has also encouraged Republicans to become far more contrarian. They now go against some of their own interests, should they be proposed in a bill by Democrats. Hell, Mitch McConnell once filibustered himself! That’s because their main interest now is being “anti-Liberal.”
“Rape is kinda like the weather. If it’s inevitable, relax and enjoy it.” – Clayton Williams, 1990 Republican candidate for Texas Governor
If the conservative identity is one of being opposed to everything liberal, then that means they must despise anything associated with liberals. As liberalism is aligned with the values of science and reason, conservatives then oppose those values in and of themselves.
And so, conservatives take a contemptuous view of reality, and the proudly ignorant are growing more belligerent daily. No rational conversation on politics is possible, as facts are always overridden by their personal opinions, which are themselves not swayed by reality. A Republican strength is the ability to ridicule a stronger argument, and truth or intelligence isn’t needed for that.
“When you say it’s not a man and a woman anymore, then why not have three men and one woman, or four women and one man, or why not somebody has a love for an animal?” – Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert, on Marriage Equality
Rational debate, constructive discourse, even polite conversation becomes impossible. You cannot reach someone considering basic logic as an anathema to them. People like this shouldn’t be anywhere within shouting distance of leadership. Those who willingly reject reality should never have the chance to shape it.
Yet that’s just what is happening. Senator Jim Inhofe wrote a book about climate change being a hoax, and he’s heading up the Environmental Committee. Ted Cruz is in charge of overseeing NASA. Say again, Ted Cruz is in charge of overseeing NASA! This is the same guy who missed the irony of protesting the ACA by reading Green Eggs and Ham.
“When WOMEN got the right to vote is when it all went downhill. Because that’s when votes started being cast with emotion and uh, maternal instincts.” – Rush Limbaugh
So how are Republicans winning with a strategy of stupid? Similarly to what we’ve written before, it comes down to how there are large numbers of Americans who must deny reality in order to continue on with a conservative mindset. Facts are inconvenient things to them. The truth is too painful for many conservative voters to bear, and this plays right into Republican strategies.
That’s why the GOP consolidates its power through stupidity. They have to. Were their constituents better informed, they would be far less likely to vote against their own best interests. So Republicans play stupid even if they aren’t, and the truly ignorant among them become the stars of the party. It’s a vicious cycle of the obtuse, and it’s not just feeding upon itself, it’s taking everyone else down with it.
“The Great Flood is an example of climate change. And that certainly wasn’t because mankind overdeveloped hydrocarbon energy.” ~ Texas Rep. Joe Barton
The only way to stop this is to stand up to them, and that’s something very few people, especially Democrats, are willing to do. You have to be blunt, and you can’t be polite. The ignorant do not respond to niceties.
“There are many other states that embrace those conservative values, the approach that we’ve taken over the years. I’m in one today, in Florida.” ~ Texas Gov. Rick Perry, delivering a speech in Louisiana
When someone saying they aren’t a doctor or a scientist is talking out of their ass about a subject they are proudly ignorant of, they have to be told to shut the f*ck up. Instead, we are giving them center stage on the Sunday Morning Talk Shows. They need to be schooled, not flattered.
A healthy society relies on a well-educated Electorate. Civilization relies on scientific advancement. Republicans are now actively trying to undermine both of these basic foundations, and if they’re allowed to continue doing so, they will bring the nation crumbling down.
If you exist in a world not based on reality, you will eventually lose to reality. The question is how many other people will you hurt along the way?
“There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that ‘my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.” ~ Isaac Asimov

Delusional Michele Bachmann Thinks President Obama Has Virtually Guaranteed World War III

In an interview on The News Hour radio program, lunatic Republican Michele Bachmann called Barack Obama the worst President ever. She also asserted that his policies will lead to World War III. Her claim that the President would lead us into World War III was made in response to a question from host Dan Maduri. Maduri asked:

How do you feel about President Obama embracing our traditional enemies like Cuba and Iran. Is he going down a dangerous path?

Bachmann’s rambling response was:

That’s the worst thing that could happen. This literally is the worst part of the Obama presidency. You can get economics wrong and you can turn it around. We saw Ronald Reagan do that in a remarkable way. Where we do have problems decades into the future are disasters with foreign policy. We had, prior to this time, four state designated sponsors of terror in the world, Iran being the worst.

Obama, for some inexplicable reason, has decided that he wants to elevate Iran, he wants to do away with all the designation the state sponsors of terror and he wants to bring Iran equal to any other country in the world and help them economically and militarily for no reason at all. This puts Iran in a position where they would have the fire power to be able to take out not only Israel, but they would have the fire power to use intercontinental ballistic missiles against the United States with nuclear chipped warheads.

This virtually guarantees in my opinion, World War 3 and I think that alone would qualify Barack Obama for being the worst president that the United States has ever had to endure.

Michele Bachmann, like Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton, has long had a paranoid fixation on Iran. She is so obsessed with Iran, that she even tried to persuade President Obama to bomb Iran, during a White House Xmas Party. Her irrational fear that diplomacy will provoke a third World War puts her in the absurdly ironic position where she would launch a war to try to prevent a war.

Fortunately for America, Michele Bachmann no longer holds an elected office. Unfortunately, she still commands a teabagger following, and her ideology still holds sway in the halls of Congress, where the likes Steve King, Louie Gohmert, Tom Cotton and Joni Ernst, carry on her style of crazy.

The nuclear agreement with Iran, that was not only supported by Barack Obama, but by cooperative leaders from several other nations as well, makes war less, not more likely. However, dangerous teabagger ideologues like Michele Bachmann and her ilk, believe compromise and diplomacy are to be avoided at all costs. Instead, she prefers an unprovoked military strike on Iran. For some peculiar reason, she thinks the way to avoid a World War is not diplomacy, but for the United States to launch a Pearl Harbor style attack on Iran, at a time when Iran is showing a willingness to meet at the negotiating table.

Her dangerously delusional view of foreign policy should be rejected. Unfortunately, it appears to be a view that is widely accepted by Republican members of Congress, even if many of them are less bombastic than Bachmann in articulating that position.  The Tom Cotton Iran letter, signed by 47 Republican Senators in March, revealed the delusional mindset of many within the Republican cabal who are hell-bent on thwarting diplomacy at every turn. While many of those Senators never verbally accused President Obama of trying to start World War III, they nevertheless tried to undermine the President’s diplomatic efforts in a way that would make war, more, rather than less likely. Like Michele Bachmann, they too should have their views rejected, by reasonable people who understand the value of diplomacy.

Watch Rand Run

Paul Cuts Off And Flees Live Interview When Questions Get Too Hard

Rand Paul had another disastrous interview with a member of the media today. Watch Paul walk out on an interview with The Guardian just as he was being pressed on his flawed campaign strategy.

Video:

Video Link

As you can see, in the video above, The Guardian’s Paul Lewis was in the middle of asking Paul about how he plans on winning the Republican nomination on a platform of criminal justice reform when the vast majority of Republicans believe that the law is being applied fairly to all Americans. Paul didn’t say goodbye, or excuse himself from the interview. He just walked out.

The media initially reported that Paul campaign staffers turned out the lights on Lewis, but the Paul folks claim that it was a CNN producer who was setting for Paul’s next interview that left the scene in darkness.

Rand Paul is getting a taste of what happens when journalists hold him accountable for his policy inconsistencies. Paul seems to be running a very entitled campaign for a family that has perpetually run for president and never come remotely close to winning anything of consequence.

Paul has defined himself as the angry lightweight who is going to deflect from his flip-flops by either attacking or running away from the media. If  Paul wants people to vote for him, media engagement is a free way to reach millions of potential voters. So far, Paul has hit the 2016 campaign trail and fallen flat on his face.

Paul may not have had the time to answer Lewis’s question, but there are more graceful ways of ending an interview than walking out. If Paul had excused himself politely from the interview, there would be no story, but if Rand Paul can’t handle NBC’s Today show and Paul Lewis from The Guardian, voters shouldn’t have any faith that he can handle being president.

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Massive Tax Break Vote On April 15 For Millionaires And Billionaires

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Wingnut hate radio caller: Pentagon spreads homosexuality with ‘gay bombs.’

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Meet The Man The Robber Barons Were Afraid Of

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