Tuesday Afternoon Thread: Welcome To Atlanta Mr. President!

It’s not a race for sixth-grade class president
By Steve Benen –

Tue Jun 26, 2012 10:11 AM EDT.

I sometimes think about something President Obama said in his inaugural address: “We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things.”

If someone could let Obama’s opponent know, I’d appreciate it.

For the second time in as many weeks, Mitt Romney’s campaign taunted President Barack Obama outside a speech.

Williams told BuzzFeed that the bus made “a few” laps before local police closed the roads around the venue before Obama’s arrival. They plan on bringing the bus back after Obama leaves to attend another fundraiser.

Did the bus laps and honking disrupt the event? Actually, no — the president’s appearance was indoors and attendees couldn’t see or hear the Romney campaign’s antics. As Kevin Drum noted, “[T]he bus didn’t interrupt anyone trying to speak, it didn’t block any entrances, and it didn’t harass anyone trying to get in.”

So what was the point? Kevin thinks this is about the Romney campaign sending a signal to the Republican Party’s right-wing base, which apparently revels in nonsense like this, that the GOP nominee hates the president every bit as much as they do. That’s certainly plausible.

I also wonder, though, whether the Romney campaign is simply run by overgrown children who think the race for the presidency of the United States during a time of global crisis is qualitatively similar to a race for sixth-grade class president.

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Indeed, as we discussed last week, the Romney campaign keeps doing this. Team Romney has a set of standard tactics, which include sending press releases, giving speeches, putting together ads, raising money, and apparently heckling. And instead of distancing himself from childish antics, the candidate himself has personally taken ownership of the tactics. Romney seems rather proud of the heckling.

http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/06/26/12417365-its-not-a-race-for-sixth-grade-class-president?lite

Now Roland has gotten Erin Burnett in on the act.

OutFrontCNN ‏@OutFrontCNN
As fmr. resident+organizer Should Pres Obama get involved w/ surging violence in Chicago? @rolandsmartin http://bit.ly/QcOH1t ‪#cnn‬ ‪#outfront

You’ll also notice they’re not feeling Mitt too much. LOL

Political Animal

Blog
June 26, 2012 11:17 AMPay
Those Bills On Time Or Forfeit Right To Vote

By Ed Kilgore

If the 2012 general election winds up as a close GOP win, the odds are very high that the national GOP drive to restrict the franchise will deserve significant credit or blame. You tend to think, quite rightly, of Florida as Ground zero for voter suppression, given that state’s decentralized voter administration system and the zest the state’s Republicans have shown for stealing elections in the name of “preventing” stolen elections. But it’s actually staid and civil Iowa that is exhibiting one of the boldest exercises in tilting the ballot box, via Gov. Terry Branstad’s determination to reduce the restoration of voting rights for ex-felons to a number closely approximating zero. The AP’s Ryan Foley has the story:

Republican Gov. Terry Branstad has made Iowa one of the most difficult states in the nation for felons to vote, with an executive order he issued last year already having disenfranchised thousands of people, a review by The Associated Press shows.

Since then, 8,000 felons in Iowa have finished their prison sentences or been released from community supervision, but less than a dozen have successfully navigated the process of applying to get their citizenship rights back, according to public records obtained by the AP.

A credit report to regain the right to vote? That’s about the most revealing reflection of latter-day Republican values I’ve seen in a while. As is this quote:

The state’s new top elections official, Republican Secretary of State Matt Schultz, urged Branstad to reinstate the application process to “send a message to Iowa’s voters that their voting privilege is sacred and will not be compromised.”

Voting’s a “privilege,” not a right, you see. There’s not a question in my mind that these people would reinstitute poll taxes if the courts and Grover Norquist would let them.

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2012_06/pay_those_bills_on_time_or_for038176.php

Sociopathic Justice

by BooMan
Mon Jun 25th, 2012 at 10:48:19 PM EST

You have to scroll down a lot to find Clarence Thomas’s dissent in Miller v. Alabama (which was joined by Scalia), but it’s worth it. The case involved two different murders committed by 14 year olds. Actually, only one of them directly killed anyone. The other kid was guilty of murder because he was implicated in the crime that led to the victim’s death. Both of these kids received life sentences without the possibility of parole. Today, the court ruled in a 5-4 decision that those sentences were unconstitutional. The specific problem was that the judges had no discretion. Once convicted, the judges had to impose this harsh sentence. The Court said that each case involving juveniles must be considered individually on its own merits. In other words, a mandatory minimum sentence of life without the possibility of parole for a juvenile, may be cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment. As a result, states cannot set such harsh mandatory minimum sentences for juveniles. The two kids can still be sentenced to life without parole, but only after a judge looks at their cases again, with the benefit of discretion.

I hope that is clear.

more here
http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2012/6/25/224819/319

Claire McCaskill Will Not Attend Democratic National Convention

Pema Levy June 26, 2012, 2:31 PM 1511

Claire McCaskill will not be attending the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, a McCaskill aide confirmed to TPM Tuesday. McCaskill joins a list of vulnerable Democratic politicians whose home districts are hostile ground for President Obama and who will be steering clear of the convention.

“In years when Claire is on the ballot, she has historically not gone to the convention,” the aide said, “because she believes it’s important to stay in Missouri to talk to voters.”

MORE: http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/06/claire-mccaskill-not-going-to-dem-convention.php

That Varsity ‘customer service’ is ON POINT!! LOLOLOLOL

miranda- – - As my mommy always says- — -”U AIN’T NEVA LIED!”- -

- – Republicans Have Been Emboldened by a Lazy Media that Won’t Call Out Their Lies - –

- – — – One would think that when politicians give statements or speeches that are disseminated by the media, they most certainly would not be bald-faced lies because there are too many, nearly instantaneous, sources to check for veracity. However, at this point in time it is best to assume that every Republican utterance is mendacious, and it is in part because their veracity is never challenged and they know they are saying exactly what a certain demographic wants to hear whether it is true or not. This week, John Boehner nearly equaled Willard Romney as the biggest liar in the Republican ranks followed closely by ex-governor and senatorial candidate from Wisconsin, Tommy Thompson. The media is remiss to label any politician a liar, but there comes a point when misleading, embellishing, or mischaracterizing fails to describe what Republicans have become; habitual and dangerous liars.- – –

Republicans are going to lie because they have no record to stand on, but the real blame rests with the media and a lazy segment of the population who depend on sources like Fox News to do their thinking for them. For example, two weeks ago a retired electrical engineer who is also a racist and devout conservative repeated Ted Nugent’s assertion during an interview for a 2nd Amendment article that President Obama is “dismantling the Constitution,” and his verification was “that’s what they’re saying.” The man said that “if they (Ted Nugent) were lying, why wasn’t the media correcting him?” Whether the media is attempting to appear objective, or are afraid to contradict Republicans’ fallacious statements is irrelevant, they bear a responsibility to inform the public, not campaign for Republicans.
THERE IS MORE.

- – - — -Teh- -RIGHT-LEANING MEDIA——CARRYING- -RE-THUG LIES- ——WE KNOW!!!

Texas GOP Platform Calls For Repealing Voting Rights Act Of 1965 |

The Republican Party of Texas released its platform this month, calling on Congress to repeal the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965. “We urge that the Voter [sic] Rights Act of 1965 codified and updated in 1973 be repealed and not reauthorized,” the platform reads. Texas is one of nine states with a history of racial discrimination that must get clearance from the Department of Justice before altering its voting laws.
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/06/26/506363/texas-gop-voting-rights-act/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Of course this platform also calls for no critical thinking in schools, so there ya have it.

these slave catching sambo muthafuckas

……………………………………….

Voter suppression through the looking glass
By Steve Benen
Tue Jun 26, 2012 4:22 PM EDT.

In recent years, Republican officials, most notably at the state level, have created several new barriers to prevent Americans from participating in elections. The voter-suppression tactics have included everything from voter-ID laws to restrictions of voter-registration drives to closing early-voting windows.

The tactics deliberately affect voting constituencies that traditionally vote Democratic: African Americans, Latinos, low-income seniors, and young people. But Herman Cain and former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell have a new video arguing that reality is upside down: supporters of voter-suppression tactics, they argue, are actually on the side of civil rights.

I can assure you this video is not a parody; it’s not intended as satire; Cain and Blackwell are not trying to look ridiculous on purpose; and if you found yourself laughing at the clip, the humor was unintentional.

Ed Kilgore was as floored by the video as I was.

If for some reason you can’t access this video, it’s an ad from famous African-American right-wingers Ken Blackwell and Herman Cain attacking Eric Holder for failing to protect the right to vote by refusing to pursue the hallucinatory New Black Panther Party voter intimidation “threat” and by persecuting poor Rick Scott, who’s just trying to protect the “integrity” of the ballot box. This rolls out after images from the civil rights movement and a pious statement from the duo about the hard-fought right to vote.

Yes, there are two sides to the larger fight. On the one hand, we have the nation’s first African American Attorney General, who’s fought back against Republican voter-suppression tactics. On the other, we have white GOP officials who are trying to rig the elections by making it harder for African Americans to register and vote.

As far as Herman Cain and Ken Blackwell are concerned, if you care about civil rights, you’ll side with the latter, and throw the former out of office.

——————————————————————————–

Indeed, Cain and Blackwell even see themselves as an extension of the purple-fingered Iraqi voters who Republicans exploited as a partisan cudgel seven years ago.

I’m tempted to say Cain and Blackwell should be ashamed of themselves for engaging in this pathetic stunt, defending the very people trying to stifle African American voting, and celebrating right-wing voter-suppression tactics as part of the civil rights struggle, but I suspect these two are well past the point of feeling any shame at all.

http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/06/26/12422279-voter-suppression-through-the-looking-glass?threadId=3451446&commentId=67420567#c67420567

Hoyer: Some Dems Will Vote To Hold Holder In Contempt For Fast And Furious
June 26, 2012 4:03 PM

WASHINGTON (AP) — Now that the politically potent National Rifle Association is keeping score, some Democrats may join House Republicans if there’s a vote to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress in a dispute over documents related to a botched gun-tracking operation.

The chief Democratic House head counter, Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, declined to tell reporters how many defections he expected, but acknowledged that some in his party would consider heeding the NRA’s call for a “yes” vote.

MORE: http://washington.cbslocal.com/2012/06/26/hoyer-some-dems-will-vote-to-hold-holder-in-contempt-for-fast-and-furious/

How can we figure out which Dems could possibly vote to hold AG Holder in contempt?

Obama is ahead among African Americans (92 to 1 percent), women (52 to 39 percent), Latinos, voters ages 18-29 (52 to 35 percent) and independents (40 to 36 percent).

Romney leads among Tea Party supporters (94 to 1 percent), whites (53 to 38 percent) and men (48 to 43 percent).

MORE: http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/06/26/12423422-nbcwsj-poll-obama-romney-remain-in-dead-heat?lite

Apologies for the HuffinPuffin link

‘Overdressed’ By Elizabeth Cline: Author On Why Michelle Obama’s Fashion Choices Need Some Work
The Huffington Post | By Rebecca Adams

Author Elizabeth Cline has a serious bone to pick with Michelle Obama.

While the oft-emulated first lady makes public appearances wearing inexpensive pieces from mass retailers like J.Crew, Banana Republic and Ann Taylor, Cline, who just penned her first book “Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost Of Cheap Fashion,” can’t seem to wrap her head around why the nation glorifies Obama’s so-called “American” style. Obama, Cline argues, wears precisely the kind of apparel that Cline rants against in her book — factory-produced, cheaply made and environmentally dubious.

“I think it’s ridiculous that she’s always lauded as this example of democratic fashion or that she’s so American because her fashion is accessible,” Cline told The Huffington Post. “The reality is that the garment and textile trade has been a dying industry for the last 10 years. So why are we so excited when we see our first lady in cheap, imported clothes?”

MORE: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/22/overdressed-elizabeth-cline-michelle-obama_n_1618777.html?ref=topbar&utm_hp_ref=style

This bish is mad at FLOTUS because the companies choose to make their clothes overseas?? Nah. This trick’s anger is two-fold:

1. She, like so many white women, can’t stand that Michelle Obama can’t stand that mahogany-hued, South Side Chi-Town raised Michelle Obama is looked upon as an AMERICAN Fashion Icon.

2. She hopes that ranting against FLOTUS will increase her book sales. Well, be careful what you wish for Bitsy Cline because the people LOVE Michelle Obama and will snatch your wig like we snatched Jodi Kantor’s.

Charles Pierce on Claire McCaskill not going to the DNC Convention:

Is there a Democratic incumbent outside of the state of West Virginia less worth re-electing than Claire McCaskill in Missouri? That it remains vitally important that she be re-elected makes me want to remove my eyeballs with fondue forks. And, no, I don’t believe the anonymous aide’s bullshit explanation, either.
One day, Claire. The voters of Missouri can’t spare the electricity of your very presence for one fcking day so you can support a president of your own party, and express solidarity with the national party that you’re going to need to get re-elected so you can go back to the Senate and start worrying about “common ground” again? It’s one thing to be a coward. It’s another to be an ingrate. It’s quite amazing to be both.

http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/claire-mccaskill-convention-10059473

Tue Jun 26, 2012 at 03:38 PM PDT.

Jeff Flake: Apartheid ‘coincides with our moral standards’

If Arizona voters think Apartheid was all that, they’ve got their guy in Rep. Jeff Flake.

In 1987, Flake testified before the Utah State Senate in support of a resolution expressing support for the government of South Africa while racial segregation laws were enforced — largely to support U.S. mining interests in the region

Of Apartheid, Flake claimed “it coincides with our moral standards,” and claimed that a majority of black South Africans didn’t “care one way or another or they don’t know about the situation.”
The recording of that testimony comes on the heels of this, over the weekend:

“For anybody to suggest that I in any way countenanced what the South Africans were doing or the policy of apartheid is offensive,” he said, saying the charge “baffles” him.

What’s baffling is how Flake’s morality coincides with that of the Apartheid regime.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/06/26/1103402/-Jeff-Flake-Apartheid-coincides-with-our-moral-standards

O/T, This MJB Grammy performances gave me goosebumps.

What are the outreach communications to constituents by congressional reps in-between election years? How do they reach out and educate their constituents? 1 or 2 Town halls only? I’m curious why these Dems so afraid to show up at the convention or feeling compelled to vote to hold Holder in contempt when they KNOW this is bullshit, why haven’t they been constantly barraging their constituents via email lists, tweets, facebook, etc. with all the truthful information humanly possible.

It is obvious that PBO’s team knew how to reach his base to get around the media when OFA was created – and the no one else seems to have figured this out. The GOP could care less because they have the mainstream media as their bullhorns…but the Dems have been left in the dust with finding creative ways to get around an obviously biased media.

This skank, idiotic, two-bit, trifling ass, emptyheaded, mentally ill, deranged, rotten bitch Orly Taitz is just moments away from a permanent stay in a mental institution

She had the nerve to compare herself to Nelson Mandela and Thurgood Marshall. Bitch you should not even utter the name of these esteemed men out of your stankin ass. And then said that the President’s deceased mother committed welfare fraud. Now that truly pisses me off. She is a certified low-life.

This crazy heffa looks like she hoards animals or some shit…can animal control bust down this bitch’s door and arrest her?!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/26/orly-taitz-stephanie-miller-ann-dunham_n_1628747.html

OMG! Why is Al Pacino in Adam Sandler’s movie “Jack and Jill”??? Did Al Pacino sell his soul to the devil? Or does he owe the IRS back taxes.

Bigger question? Why am I watching Jack and Jill? I must be tired from working 6 days straight.

Why won’t somebody tell Rep. Frederica Wilson the truth about these hats lol. H/T TOD

edit: You know PBO is thinking to himself don’t look at the hat, don’t look at the hat, don’t look at the hat .