Boston.com: Members of Congress of both parties often complain about fraud and abuse in Medicare and Medicaid (M&M), usually charging that the President is not doing enough to keep bad guys from stealing money from these vital programs.
Guess what? Thanks to provisions in the Affordable Care Act (ACA/ObamaCare) and to an unprecedented effort by the Obama Administration, more progress has been made in the past three years to combat health care fraud and abuse than ever before.
Full article here
More from Steve Benen here
****
****
Four years ago:
Mitch Stewart (from email): People have been sending around two videos here at headquarters this morning, and I thought you’d want to see them, too. This first one was posted to YouTube almost exactly four years ago. It’s Barack Obama’s “closing argument” to Iowans the night before the caucuses in 2008.
It’s pretty incredible to see candidate Obama talk about what President Obama ultimately did. He makes four specific promises - on reforming health care, making college more affordable, ending the war in Iraq, and putting us on the path to energy independence - all of which today, four years later, are promises kept.
The second video is from yesterday - posted by the New York Times reporters on the ground in Iowa. It’s a sneak peek into the “the best-organized presidential campaign in Iowa.” Spoiler alert: It’s not Mitt Romney. Or Ron Paul. Or Rick Santorum.
Both these videos are pretty near and dear to my heart. I was the campaign’s Iowa caucus director in 2008, and I know how hard people are working there right now, opponent or no opponent:
****
White House.gov
Yes, Obama.
Chips…I’m so glad that you posted that Health Stew piece….WiW do you see that???
Here’s something else that I will bring over from the last thread:
http://pmcarpenter.blogs.com/p_m_carpenters_commentary/2012/01/a-field-of-dwarves.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+pmcarpenterscommentary+%28p+m+carpenter%27s+commentary%29
‘A field of dwarves’
While Republicans’ childish lips are saying “Yes yes yes” to President Obama’s vulnerabilities, Republicans’ adult eyes have said “No no no.” And what this abundance of caution, this failure of formation, this avoidance of battle by the party’s reputed grownups — Mitch Daniels, Haley Barbour, Chris Christie, Jeb Bush — reveals is that the Establishment’s true emotions behind, and authentic assessments of, the 2012 presidential race are this: The incumbent is, far more likely than not, unbeatable.
Read the rest. It’s good!
And it’s good to see that I’m not the only one seeing the coming GOP crack up. A comment from AnneJ to the post:
OUCH!
http://bobcesca.com/blog-archives/2012/01/chart-of-the-day-20.html
Yikes! That’s gonna leave a mark!
Now, THAT is funny.
However the chart doesn’t cover 3rd party fundraising. Billionaires can give SuperPACS millions and it’s not a lot of skin off their nose.
Romney has the large Super PAC that will be funding him so this chart may not be an accurate reflection of his available funds.
Do not read the comments on this. I made that awful mistake, and clicked on “Terry for President”. WHY!? They had still shots of a graphic abortion commerical, appalling and disgusting.
Another myth bites the dust
http://bobcesca.com/blog-archives/2012/01/more-ron-paul-myths.html
That is fantastic desertflower, the ‘progessive’ PaulBots are being exposed for their stupidity (or worse?) every single day - love it.
amazing, huh? Someone needs to Tweet this around
Seriously. What a charlatan.
I DON’T CARE WHO WINS IN IOWA..NONE OF THEM CAN COMPARE TO PBO! IT DOESN’T MATTER…HE WILL TAKE WHOMEVER TO THE MATTTTTT!!!!!!!
It’s an insult to his intellect for him to run against anyone of that bunch.
True dat, my Friend, true dat
So true.
Minnesota…are you watching this????????? She needs to go spend some quiet time in the far reaches of the Minnesota Boundary Waters….during mosquito season!
http://politicalcorrection.org/blog/201201030001
Great “Christian” woman she is!
I assume you mean Bachmann; can’t force myself to read it. Just heard Santorum say the person in the White House doesn’t care about the greatness of America.
Good thing I never try to wish that lightning would strike certain people, believing they’ll cause their own backlash and it’s not up to me … but I am with you on the mosquitoes!
Not sure if this has been posted here, but it’s worth a look, Iowa being in the news and all—-and clarifies some stuff about my home state which is nothing like it is being portrayed by the rt. wing nut jobs running in the Repub. presidential campaign there:
I love this…..
Tweeted this yesterday, dotster - I agree:
Our4thEstate Bobfr
Why the GOP will lose Iowa again on 6 Nov 2025 - http://t.co/JcYy7anN And, most Iowans can’t stand GOP. Truth. #LandslideOBAMA2012
#PRESSON
Saw that yesterday, dotster
Good one! I think LL posted it….worth the watch 
‘Twas not me, but a good clip nevertheless.
This is great! Sent it to my daughter & husband who lives in Iowa. And I hope they’re going to caucus, too. Her husband did the organizing of their group, as I recall, the last time. Caucusing is not for the uninitiated. Much bumbling around until Steven took over.
Freakin’ hysterical! This video really disabused me of some of the long-time misconceptions I had about Iowa. Nice.
Our4thEstate Bobfr
America - ObamaCare (Yes He Does) has done more to reduce fraud & abuse in health care than ever before - http://t.co/qJaXHjc3 #OBAMA2012
And,
Our4thEstate Bobfr
American women - what’s at stake? Well, here’s my opinion. http://t.co/af9NqSRD #ObamaLandslide2012 #DemocraticLandslide2012 #YesWeMust VOTE
#PRESSON
Thank you, Bobfr! #PRESSON
Good morning Chips and TOD family!!! Go Iowa. My husband went to the local OFA office and made calls to Iowa yesterday. He came home very pumped up. Said the people he did talk to are ready to caucus and work hard for Obama this year. Glad the First Family arrived in DC safely. Now to work for all of us.
MTmarilyn, please thank you husband for me and all of our TOD family. Every call matters. Thanks again, MTmarilyn.HZ
I am in love with this video. I am sorry that it is too crude for my teen boys to watch. This is the gem that the Obamas see in different States. This is one of those facets that make you want to chant: U S A, U S A!!!!
How “teen” are they? I know that as moms and dads we like to keep it clean around the house….but, if they’re in middle school….they probably heard “that” word already
Just sayin’….
I know. They are 14,11,10. But, they still expect us not to allow them to watch or say those not so nice words
There is a clean up verson on Youtube….
Thanks Linda, I’ll look into it.
Campaign mode is officially in full force. I go back to school this weekend. Some of the Frats and Sorors are sponsoring a free trip to New Hampshire to help mobilize democratic voters for President Obama. This will be my first time canvassing as a college student on campus. We’re in for a long ride. Wooo.
AWESOME. You’ll love it. Be prepared for all kinds of questions and attitudes!!
Mitt Romney will never stop lying!!! OMG!
very good!
Mr. Permanent Campaign can’t crack 25%.
Loved that from David!
Seeing his name reminds me that during an editorial board with some newspaper, probably in Iowa where she’s selling her soul this week, Bachmann said that PBO listened to General Axelrod and General Plouffe when he made his decision about bringing the troops home from Iraq, not the generals on the ground. First of all, the President is the Commander-in-Chief and the military generals take orders from him, after giving him their advice and counsel.
Second, well, just go jump in a river, Bachmann.
I love your “second” JOB
No, No, DonnaD4O!!! We do not wish that on the river. That is too much pollution!!!!!! HZ
This woman is so incredibly juvenile and disturbed.
I agree with you, Meta! Surely, people in her Congressional district can do better than this if they want some one to represent their interests.
Romney: I’ll will win Iowa…or not.
DES MOINES, IOWA — The focus today will be on conservatives — who’s got them, who’s lost them, who never had them — here and across Iowa as caucuses begin. But let’s pause for a moment and talk about the Occupy movement, which has a presence in Des Moines and plans to use the caucuses for its own ends.
You probably won’t see occupiers shutting down the caucus process tonight. But you will likely see occupiers using the caucus process (and the massive media coverage surrounding it) to further their political message.
This week, Occupiers protested outside campaign headquarters here in town. Some were arrested. And tonight, Occupiers are calling on their members who are registered voters to attend caucus and events and stand as uncommitted to show their disdain for the slate of candidates.
http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/01/how-occupy-des-moines-will-try-to-win-the-caucus-video.php?m=1
They are assholes!
Instead of them supporting PBO and getting him better Democrats to work with in congress they use this opportunity for a useless act. I hope OFA gets out the caucus vote and OWS’s little tactic is barely noticed,
They won’t protest the political party causing their misery but they will protest the party that agrees with them on the overwhelming majority of issues.
And this isn’t a Republican front?
Precisely. All Ron Paul supporters. Every one of them, watch Jon Stewart!
Exactly! I am so sick of OWS!
is PBO speaking today in Iowa or tomorrow? Also what time is it supposed to be.
It is tonight…but I don’t know what time….I hope they live stream it for us.
He’s speaking to Dem caucus goers via video conference today and then speaking in Ohio tomorrow on economy.
Heads will explode tomorrow because he is leaving DC after only one day back.
Good.
He’s the only one in Washington. Congress is still on vacation.
By Lynn Sweet on January 2, 2026 6:23 PM | No Comments
DES MOINES-Democrats continue to count on Mitt Romney as the eventual nominee-if he wins Iowa Tuesday or comes in behind weaker rivals Ron Paul and Rick Santorum and New Hampshire on Jan. 10 it will be tough for any of his six rivals to deny him an early clinch.
Team Obama is here playing hard one story-that Romney is not a job creator. With jobs a central issue to the 2012 election-and with President Barack Obama having to deal with a high jobless rate during his tenure-beating back Romney’s boasts on the campaign trail he can create jobs is a priority at this time for Democrats.
That’s why the Team Obama is shining a spotlight on Romney’s tenure at Bain Capital and the companies it bought, operated, sold and closed. This week in Iowa, the face on the story in one Randy Johnson-brought into Iowa by the Democratic National Committee and the Steelworkers.
Johnson lost his job at an American Pad and Paper plant in Indiana; Bain purchased it in 1992 and closed it during a strike, laying off, according to the DNC some 250 workers. Bain still made $100 million.
Johnson has been chasing Romney in Iowa. The DNC has him Monday night at a press conference after Romney wraps up his Iowa campaign tonight at a rally in Clive, Iowa to talk about Romney’s “job killing record.” The DNCers also got him booked on MSNBC and CNN.
Four of Romney’s sons are on CNN, now. I pity them, really, for having “that one” as a father and role model. The saddest thing about these Republicans is what they instill in their children.
Now Ron Paul is speaking on CNN. Good thing I’ve muted the channel - just watching to get an overview this morning. Ever notice how Paul looks like he only weighs 50 pounds? Must be all the weed.
Oh, my posts are a bit nasty today. What could be influencing me? Oh, yeah, CNN. Switching now …
Plans for Chesapeake Bay cleanup will create 250k jobs-
Wow!
Dems/Obama should counter the Pipeline XL issue with this one. GOP wants the pipeline because it will create 6000 jobs and pollute like crazy but vote against creating 250K jobs that will clean up pollution.
Except it won’t even create 6000 jobs.Not even close.
http://thinkprogress.org/green/2011/11/04/362056/fact-check-keystone-xl-tar-sands-pipeline-isnt-a-job-creator/
Here’s a good article about the negative impact of tar sands on the general public and the environment.~
There’s No Hiding From Tar Sands Oil:
—By Tim McDonnell| Thu Dec. 15, 2011 12:20 PM PST
Keystone XL pipeline or no, America is awash with the dirty oil from Canada. Here’s our interactive map revealing the refineries near you.
Projections from Canada’s environmental ministry point to an estimated 740,000 acres of boreal forest being chopped down over the next decade to make way for tar sands development, and some estimates peg the carbon footprint of tar sands oil extraction at up to 70 percent higher than other crude oil sources.
Moreover, environmental groups have raised concerns about negative health impacts in the neighborhoods surrounding refineries that process tar sands oil and even at the extraction sites themselves: A December 2010 Sierra Club report linked tar sands refineries emissions to prenatal brain damage, asthma, and emphysema, and it also suggested a disproportionate placement of tar sands refineries in low-income minority neighborhoods.
Read more: http://motherjones.com/environment/2011/12/theres-no-hiding-tar-sands-oil
Actually I think they should counter the pipeline with the American Jobs Act.
Exactly! I really hope they do that!
THIS
In a presidential contest dominated by concerns over the weak economy, government spending and the $15 trillion federal debt, the Republican candidates have been loath to acknowledge the extent to which Bush administration policies contributed to those problems.
But the challenge for Democrats is to not let this stand. Not only is Bush responsible for nearly all of the messes Obama is trying to clean up, but nearly all of the Republican candidates are eager to bring return to Bush-era policies — only this time, they’ll be even more right wing.
It would seem, then, that the tack for Obama’s re-election campaign is pretty obvious: “A vote for Romney is a vote for the Bush policies that got us into this mess in the first place. Let’s not go backwards.”
Here I agree with Newt Gingrich cause its a sad commentary on our MSM.
On calling Mitt Romney a liar and at the interviewers being shocked SHOCKED!!
“Which part of what I just said to you is false?” he asked the surprised hosts. “Why is it that if I’m candid in person and I wanted to be honest in person, that’s shocking? If [Romney’s] PAC buys millions of dollars in ads to say things that are false, that’s somehow the way Washington plays the game. Isn’t that exactly what’s sick about this country right now? Isn’t that what the American people are tired of?”
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2012_01/gingrich_takes_off_the_gloves034486.php
A broken clock and all that. But, yes, the media has gone from being watchdogs — although to what extent they performed that service is up to debate — to being lapdogs to the powerful.
Plus, Newt knows a thing or two about lying. Takes one to know one….
And yet this morally and ethically corrupt bastid will vote for willard when push to comes to shove. Any two bit hack would have questioned him about that,
DNC BRAD WOODHOUSE & NEWT GINGRICH AGREE WILLARD IS A LIAR
Watching Newt Gingrich being interviewed this morning on CBS (a must see) was immensely satisfying. You have to believe that the DemRapidResponse team will have an ad up momentarily.
In an interview the other day, DNC Brad Woodhouse was talking about Willlard’s questionable job creation record. MSNBC Chris Jansing raised concerns that President Obama was going negative. Brad Woodhouse explained to Chris Jansing that it was not about being negative, it was about SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT. Norah O’Donnell & Bob Schieffer have difficulty with this concept too.
It’s just hilarious that Newt Gingrich is essentially saying the same thing about Williard and his prolific lying as the DNC. But of course, this is only an issue now that Newt’s ox is being gored by pacs supporting Willard. Once Willard is the nominee, Newt will fall in line and be more than happy to help Willard spread his lies about President Obama. But sadly for Newt we will be able to go to the video tape.
DNC’s Woodhouse on Romney’s Private Sector Experience: He Wasn’t Making Widgets
Who knows, may be Newt has really gotten religion. In this instance, at least, he really spoke the TRUTH! But the media didn’t want to hear the TRUTH because most of them are rooting for Romney.
Sorry everyone, lots of comments are ending up in pending today for some unknown (to me!) reason - I’m freeing them as soon as I see them. Bizarrely, WordPress’s spam detector seems to have an issue with the words “Des Moines”!!!
Skynet???
Thanks Chips we’ll just use the initials DM for the day
Good idea Donna! But why does WordPress hate Des Moines?!
It’s anybody’s guess. Maybe because the words are actually French? I’m just guessing here.
Ah, WordPress are Francophobes?!
We’re are thinking alike today! I had the same thought
Well, you never know. Des Moines might be a curse word to wordpress.
Yep, that ended up in spam too!!
I wondered why every time I would post a link to the DM Register, my comments would sail off into space, whirling and twirling in the atmosphere before they were eventually and surely snuffed out. Why does WP hate DM? Maybe they are mad about the butter cow at the state fair there—-too fattening.
Morning everyone. I’m back at my home library today after a four month deployment to one of our new libraries, and am so glad to be back.
I came across this link yesterday, on Shoq’s site. I highly recommend it.
http://shoqvalue.com/some-essays-that-every-progressive-should-read
Des Moines.
Ha, I just found this comment in the spam folder!!
I’ll be damned. Saying De…..DM is just anathema to wordpress.
I bet dollars to donuts that it’s some sort of joke code that WP programmers put in.
I’ll bet 10K in donuts!
On?
Photo: @DWStweets and @BruceBraley’s #iacaucus press conference pic.twitter.com/0G32KEYP
-
A press conference that gets 0 press coverage.
Posted at 09:00 AM ET, 01/02/2025
Michelle Obama’s backside is your business how?
By Mary C. Curtis
Can you imagine how the incident would play out if an African American congressman made a crude remark about First Lady Laura Bush’s body? It certainly would have taken more than an insincere apology to wash that sin away. That scenario never happened — hopefully because those congressmen were raised with a measure of common decency. I know that America’s first family – an image this country presents to the world — is traditionally granted a certain amount of respect across party lines.
Only Wisconsin Republican congressman Jim Sensenbrenner apparently isn’t bound by such traditions. While I suspect he might be the first to defend the honor and dignity of previous First Ladies, he was recently overheard at Washington’s Reagan National Airport loudly criticizing Michelle Obama’s healthy eating initiative: “She lectures us on eating right while she has a large posterior herself.”
His insults quickly disappeared from the headlines after he pledged to send the first lady an apology. Even then, though, he couldn’t resist — through a spokesperson — taking another shot at Michelle Obama’s efforts to get Americans to add more fruits and veggies to their diets and to get moving.
The aide’s note said: “Mr. Sensenbrenner was referring to the First Lady’s healthy food initiative. He doesn’t think the government should be telling Americans what to eat. While he may not agree with all of her initiatives, he plans to contact the First Lady’s office to apologize for his comments.”
But Sensenbrenner wasn’t talking about her “initiatives.” He was insulting her body.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/post/michelle-obamas-backside-is-your-business-how/2012/01/01/gIQAv0S8UP_blog.html
Republicans Hang a Whites Only Sign on America
What Republican political theology insists upon in 2012 hearkens back to the Puritan ideal of the City on the Hill – a special place for special (i.e. God’s) people, who happened to be white conservative Christians (converted Native Americans were always second class citizens). In the 21st century, that special place is reserved for – white conservative Christians.
And it’s not only a matter of skin color. There are taints of other sorts, what I have referred to here before as the Canaanite disease, where everything outside that perfect city is relegated to the role assigned to the Bible’s Canaanites – the cultural and religious other, skin color notwithstanding.
http://www.politicususa.com/en/republicans-hang-a-whites-only-sign-on-america
Des Moines.
Jus’ poking at WP.
Ended up in spam!
Iowa Politics Insider: It’s here. Iowa guide to presidential politics for today. dmreg.co/vV4ojy #iacaucus
9:51am - 3 Jan 12 via HootSuite
Good read…
The Year of the Cockroach
In the United States, we are ill-served by our political media. They are populated by known hacks (Halperin, Fineman), trust fund babies whose careers were bought for them (Katrina vanden Heuvel), soccer moms with furrowed brows (Joan Walsh), social climbers (Arianna Huffington), failed lawyers with an axe to grind (CenkyStank and Gigi Greenwald), ex-sportscasters with an ego the size of Brooklyn Bridge and a maturity level the size of an amoeba (Keith Olbermann) and assorted comics with a bathroom desire to be taken seriously as political pundits (Bill Maher). Not to mention the Boys’ Brigade and their Troop Leader (Adam Green, Chris Hayes and Scout Leader Michael Moore). And let’s not forget the hootin’n hollerin’ version of Southern Rush, Ed Schultz.
If you’ve ever lived in a place infested by cockroaches, you know how quickly they can appear. The Professional Left, who serve as “interpreters” or spokesmen for the liberal political media have proven themselves to be veritable cockroaches infesting the Democratic electorate ever since the election of Barack Obama in 2008.
http://www.osborneink.com/2012/01/the-year-of-the-cockroach.html
Wow. I will have to share this with my progressive friends who love the water Maher, Moore and Olbermann walk on. Very interesting and insightful read.
The election of BHO has shed some light on people I used to listen to when Bush was president. I never suspected at that time, these people possessed such dark hearts and small minds.
Just saw this on FB and thought it was adorable:
“I will not play tug o’ war. I’d rather play hug o’ war. Where everyone hugs instead of tugs, Where everyone giggles and rolls on the rug, Where everyone kisses, and everyone grins, and everyone cuddles, and everyone wins.”. — Shel Silverstein
Gotta love Shel Silverstein
Ditto, DF!!! HZ
8:15 PM Eastern
Race to 2012: Obama addresses supporters President Obama participates in a video teleconference with Iowa caucus attendees.
http://live.cnn.com/
White House spokesman Josh Earnest refused to confirm or deny rumors first reported by ThinkProgress that President Obama would install Richard Cordray as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in a recess appointment.
“We’re not going to speculate/prognosticate on recess appointments,” Earnest told POLITICO in an email.
Crazy Train has left the station!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/01/03/396516/santorum-states-should-have-the-right-to-outlaw-birth-control/
No wonder those Duggers love him. I detest these people. HARD!
They’re all goofballs—-so extreme in their religious beliefs. No birth control—-what a splendid idea! The Duggars and their like-minded are trying to have as many Christian extremist babies as possible trying to do their part into populating the country with same and changing the U.S. into a Christian theocracy. And I get so irritated with our media fawning over this family as if what they are doing is sane and good.
Look at all the AA, Hispanics and Asians at the Ron Paul events?
Oh wait…
And of course…this
TPHealth Report: Romney Ran As Pro-Choice In 1994 Because Poll Showed ‘It Would Be Impossible For A Pro-Life Candidate To Win’ bit.ly/sz6KTf
4 days ago · reply · retweet · favorite
“I’m running for office for pete’s sake” and Romney offering a $10,000 bet are two great gifts we can thank Rick Perry for. One or the other should be in all Dem attack ads though the election in November.
There are SO MANY! He needs to just keep talking…..
Des Moines. That is all.
Ended up in spam
Ms.Chips, good morning. I am just testing. Everyone, good morning.
I thank God for the DNC in Iowa for holding it down. Our family looks rested, happy and stylish as usual. I am confident that tis day will be the start of a lot of things good.
All of the lies and liars are turning on each other and all our President has to do and I am praying that……….Peace Be Still.
Prayerwarrior, if you are there Happy New Year. We need to keep praying and staying positive.
Mrs. O sure looks good in that gray. She wears every color so well. Really loving the gloves!
The Year of the Cockroach
By Emilia1956
If nothing else, let it be said that the Presidency of Barack Obama proved one precise thing: That the United States is not a post-racial country. More importantly – as 2011 revealed – racism is as rampant on the Left side of the political spectrum as on the Right. More subtle, perhaps, and with a decidedly different flavour, but it’s there all the same.
Add to racism, misogyny, as well. We’re all familiar with the Religious Right’s war on women – the efforts to curtail and then to make illegal abortion, efforts in some states to make all sorts of contraception illegal, personhood initiatives. It seems, in some instances, people who identify with the Left can live with those things, if it means getting rid of Barack Obama. A small price to pay, surely.
No one likes being labelled a racist. Not even known or exposed racists like being fingered as one. But for the longest time, the Progressive Left have seen themselves above that sort of thing, to the extent that many confidently asserted that racism simply does not exist on the Left.
And the Barack Obama was elected.
http://www.osborneink.com/2012/01/the-year-of-the-cockroach.html
I just read another great article from Emilia…….she is good!!
I learned something about Katrina Vanden Huvel that I didn’t know.
Well I know that she always bash the President, she’s very vocal but I didn’t know that she was a big supporter of Nader in 2000. Not surprising though.
”vanden Heuvel was one of a triumvirate of big mouths - the other two being Bill Maher and Michael Moore - who trolled the nation during the 2000 campaign cycle, asserting that Bush and Gore were one and the same and extolling people to vote, instead, for Ralph Nader.”
With the 2000 election shaping up as a contest between Al Gore and George Bush, The Nation magazine urged Ralph Nader to run for president on the Green Party ticket and eventually co-endorsed him. His presence at the head of the ticket, The Nation argued, gave the Green Party a fighting chance at attracting 5% of the vote and a seat at the 2004 presidential debates.”
So she’s doing it again in 2012…..the professional left little love fest with Ron Paul….if he wasn’t a racist and homophobic, she would endorse him in a heart beat publicly.
http://emiliawahoo76.blogspot.com/2012/01/katrina-vanden-heuvel-living-proof-that.html?spref=tw
@PaulBegala
Huckabee: GOP more interested in defeating Obama than rebuilding America. bit.ly/tpyHEq
While I would never vote for Huckabee, he’s always seemed much saner than the majority of the GOP. I bet he loses his Fox job for that quote, or will walk it back in short order.
He makes up for that quote with his endless “Repeal Obamacare” ads that run on MSNBC. He’s still worthy of working at FOX.
Senior White House officials think it’s still a little early for President Barack Obama or his campaign to engage in a full-scale assault on the GOP presidential candidates — no matter how hard they are hitting the president - and plan to wait until the smoke clears in Iowa, New Hampshire and Florida before kicking their campaign into high gear.
Some Democrats worry that the endless stream of invective and negative advertising by Mitt Romney and others in battleground states could be grinding down Obama’s approval numbers in several must-win battleground states, making his general election challenge more difficult.
Yet when asked whether Obama, his Chicago-based campaign or independent Democratic groups plan to match Republican spending in Iowa and New Hampshire, a senior Obama aide pointed out that the traditional timing for an incumbent to engage in full-time campaigning is in the early summer of an election year.
http://www.politico.com/politico44/2012/01/obama-aides-campaign-to-heat-up-in-summer-109431.html
What somebody says about Pres Obama now will not matter come November. Because if it is changing opinions now, that same opinion will be open to be changed again. And if it isn’t changing now (ie. person formed opinion over last three years) than it likely won’t be changed via campaign ads ever anyways.
Santorum: States Should Have The Right To Outlaw Birth Control
By Igor Volsky | Posted at January 3, 2012, 7:52 am
Rick Santorum reiterated his belief that sates should have the right to outlaw contraception during an interview with ABC News yesterday, saying, “The state has a right to do that, I have never questioned that the state has a right to do that. It is not a constitutional right, the state has the right to pass whatever statues they have.” Watch the Jake Tapper interview:
~snip~
Santorum has long opposed the Supreme Court’s 1965 ruling “that invalidated a Connecticut law banning contraception” and has also pledged to completely defundfederal funding for contraception if elected president. As he told CaffeinatedThoughts.com editor Shane Vander Hart in October, “One of the things I will talk about, that no president has talked about before, is I think the dangers of contraception in this country,” the former Pennsylvania senator explained. “It’s not okay. It’s a license to do things in a sexual realm that is counter to how things are supposed to be.”
http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/758122/santorum%3A_states_should_have_the_right_to_outlaw_birth_control/
Heads up everyone, Jay Carney’s press briefing:
http://obamadiary.wordpress.com/2012/01/03/heads-up-82/
I’ve been tracking this issue to see how it would fare as the deadline approached…. and…it’s a wrap!~
After Three Decades, Tax Credit for Ethanol Expires
By ROBERT PEAR| Published: January 1, 2026
A federal tax credit for ethanol expired on Saturday, ending an era in which the federal government provided more than $20 billion in subsidies for use of the product. The tax break, created more than 30 years ago, had long seemed untouchable. But in the last year, during which Congress was preoccupied with deficits and debt, it became a symbol of corporate welfare. Fiscal conservatives joined liberal environmentalists to kill it, with help from a diverse coalition of outside groups. In the United States, most ethanol is produced from corn. The demise of the subsidy is all the more remarkable because it comes at the peak of the political season in Iowa, where corn is king.
~snip~
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/02/business/energy-environment/after-three-decades-federal-tax-credit-for-ethanol-expires.html?_r=2&wpisrc=nl_wonk
DES MOINES.
Spammed!!
Donna Dem, would you please email me at [email protected]. Chips told me you might be able to help me with some questions I have about OFA.
Thanks.
National advocates for immigrant rights are hammering Mitt Romney this week for opposing legislation providing a path to citizenship for illegal immigrant students.
The advocates maintain that Romney’s recent vow to veto the DREAM Act if he wins the White House will “disqualify” him in the eyes of Latino voters, an ever-growing constituency that both parties have sought to court.
“Millions of Latino voters see their own children and family histories in the aspirations and ambitions of the DREAM youth and don’t take kindly to those determined to slam the doors of opportunity in their faces,” Frank Sharry, executive director of America’s Voice, an immigrant rights group, said Tuesday in a statement.
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/gop-presidential-primary/202069-immigrant-advocates-hammer-romney-on-dream-act
The Year Of The Cockroach, what an excellent read. After all the posting about this Greenwald person, I needed someone to explain t o me as simple as possible what the terms: liberals, emprogs, PL meant. After reading that article, I have an idea.
But what I do not understand is why waste all of that energy on Tweeter pushing back what he says. If we want him to go away why not simply ignore him or tweet how much you have or will donate to POB?
These people what I gathered from the article are sadly jealous of President Obama. Were they this vocal when Bush& Co. were doing nothing and caused all of the problems we are facing now? Were they repubs then?
This presidency has done so much for this country and hate is blinding those who refuse to see, hear and listen. I am looking foward to the next four years because more covers will expose who we really are. Thank you, President Obama for standing for the truth.
Who else thinks the President is going to have to give up on his “Yes We Can” tagline for most of his priorities… and be forced to fall back on “*Yes*We*Have!*”
Inescapable, really.
…
You laugh now, but a hard rain’s gonna fall, people. A hard rain’s gonna fall.
=p
ANY INFO ON RECESS APPTS?
DES MOINES DES MOINES DES MOINES
I am so new to email, posting, etc. that I really am a novice but I hope all of you can read this and then refer to today’s Lawrence Journal World, Lawrence, KS. It seems our elected House Speaker O’Neal (R) has forwarded an email citing a bibilical verse about Obama’s days being numbered. Of course, now they are back tracking to say it only means his days in office, not his life….I don’t believe it for one minute! We are one of the states with a huge republican turnover during the last “Tea Party”election so we have new voter ID, a governor who is working behind the scenes about the abortion bill, closing our Lawrence social services office (with Lawrence being the 5th largest city in the state) and so on. We simply must re-elect President Obama!
their hate will consume them. Let them all come out of the woodwork - hopefully, the Independents are watching. Just like the article someone posted earlier - the cockroaches are all coming out. Who’s got the RAID?
Citing a Biblical verse does not make Speaker O’Neal a prophet! All you need to do is tell Speaker O’Neal that many of us are literate enough to read the Bible on our own to determine its meaning. We don’t need Speaker O’Neal interpreting the Bible for us about President Obama. I personally reject the notion that the Bible was written by, and for, the right wing teabag Republican ideologues. Judging from the right wing lies and underhanded tactics, I am even convinced that if Jesus the Christ appeared to day, right wing teabag Republicans would denounce him and call for his persecution. So, what passes as Biblical prophesy, from right wing teabag Republicans, is nothing more than manufactured lies, which have absolutely nothing to do with the Holy Bible. Surely, the Bible that inspired Dr. Martin Luther King can’t be the same Bible that is being invoked by these intolerant right wing teabaggers who are covertly advocating the violent elimination President Obama.