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[Aaron Strife]

I gotta disagree with you here. Obama was a revolutionary candidate. He was like Reagan and Kennedy before him in being a transformitive force in American Politics.

The Republican Candidates the last two election cycles were boring and uninspiring. But then again so were Gore, and Kerry, and Mondale, and Kucinich. Dole, Ford, etc.

I think people either don't remember or they underestimate the value of his personality and charisma just as Dems underestimated Reagan. There's no way a cookie cutter bland candidate would beat him unless the atmosphere was double digit points in the other candidate's favor.

The moment he won the nomination he was going to win that election unless something absolutely catastrophic with his candidacy happened. He survived Reverend Wright, Bill Ayers, Birth Certificate claims, claims of being a Muslim, claims of being Sympathetic to Terrorism. guilt by association absurdities and accusations no other candidate has had to deal with, and won in a landslide.

Obama was an amazing candidate (both times), but at the same time I think almost any Democrat could have won in 2008. Things were already bad after the Bush presidency and shit got really bad in September. Plus McCain's campaign sucked.

Obama 08 was the perfect combination of candidate strength and natural environment for the Democrats.

 

[NYCmetsfan]

Wildstein is talking:
http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/wildstein-christie-feds

Bad news for Chris Christie -- and very good news for the citizens of New Jersey: Esquire has learned from sources close to the investigation that David Wildstein, the former Port Authority operative who helped plan and execute the Great Fort Lee Clusterfk, is now cooperating with Paul Fishman, the federal prosecutor investigating the soon-to-be-ex-governor and his minions for criminal conduct. Fishman has also increased the number of investigators at work on the case, and has begun presenting evidence and witnesses to a grand jury in Newark.

How likely are leaks on what they are investigating?


Also,
http://www.mediaite.com/online/conservative-medias-perceived-wonk-gap/

The amount of misdirecting, apples to oranges comparisons, changing the subject and non sequiturs in this article is amazing.

The perception that conservative media lacks a focus on serious policy issues is widespread. While it is not accurate, it is understandable why some might hold this view. But judging from the phenomenon of modern “explanatory journalism,” it is not because conservative policy wonks talk down to their audience. It is because they do not.

That's because 'Conservative policy wonks' are speaking to different audiences. Liberals speak to voters and readers. Conservatives speak to rich people who want to feel like their policies are justified.

I do like Reihan Salam and James Pethokoukis though. They are pretty great writers and honest.

 

[Tamanon]

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/vance-mcallister-kissing-staffer-video

A Louisiana newspaper claims to have surveillance video showing Rep. Vance McAllister (R-LA), a married freshman member of Congress who ran for office last year as a conservative Christian with the backing of the stars of the "Duck Dynasty" reality show, "passionately embracing and kissing" one of his female staffers.

The video was published online Monday by The Ouachita Citizen, a conservative-leaning newspaper that endorsed McAllister's opponent in last November's special election to fill Louisiana's 5th District seat in the House. The newspaper, which has a paid circulation of 5,200, credited an "anonymous source" with providing the surveillance video of what it described as an "extramarital encounter." According to the Citizen, the video shows McAllister kissing a woman the newspaper identified as Melissa Peacock -- McAllister’s district scheduler -- at his district office in Monroe.

Man, I feel it's been a while since we had a good ol' affair in Congress.

Lucky for him it's with a woman at least, or else he might be in trouble.

 

[speculawyer]

bachmann

“This whole enterprise was just an elaborate excuse,” says Barry Blitt about his cover for this week’s issue. “I enjoyed drawing Ted Cruz, John Boehner, and Michele Bachmann as petulant children—and I especially wanted to draw an open-mouthed Mitch McConnell being spoon-fed his meds.”

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blo...social&utm_medium=google+&mbid=social_google+

Ahh . . . I didn't think it was Bachmann because she just isn't relevant anymore. But I guess she is still around to kick around. BTW, what is happening in the race for her seat?

Petulant children being forced to take their medicine is such a great metaphor for the situation.

 

[Aaron Strife]

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/vance-mcallister-kissing-staffer-video



Man, I feel it's been a while since we had a good ol' affair in Congress.

Lucky for him it's with a woman at least, or else he might be in trouble.

Yeah, their senator is David Vitter. He'll be fine.

 

[Coriolanus]

I do like Reihan Salam and James Pethokoukis though. They are pretty great writers and honest.

Yeah, he's a very good writer, very eager. Not so hot interviewer. Usually kinda meh when he leads Vice podcasts.

I`m kinda baffled by his political identity, though. Man identifies himself as a conservative, but... unless he's using some bizarro definition of conservative, I just can't see it, to be honest.

 

[NYCmetsfan]

Yeah, he's a very good writer, very eager. Not so hot interviewer. Usually kinda meh when he leads Vice podcasts.

I`m kinda baffled by his political identity, though. Man identifies himself as a conservative, but... unless he's using some bizarro definition of conservative, I just can't see it, to be honest.

Classical liberal mixed with a liberal internationalist outlook

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/vance-mcallister-kissing-staffer-video



Man, I feel it's been a while since we had a good ol' affair in Congress.

Lucky for him it's with a woman at least, or else he might be in trouble.

Louisiana doesn't really have a problem with their elected officials sleeping outside their marriages though

 

[NYCmetsfan]

Megyn Kelly and O'Reilly are assholes. News at 11 (Median Income for the city they were speaking to? 130,000 per family)
Edit: I could care less about gawkers headline or that joke. I care about the anti-poor statements and faux persecution
http://gawker.com/bill-o-reilly-at-catholic-fundraiser-i-want-to-beat-up-1558230813

 

[Diablos]

wow lol. perfect

Hahaha this made my fucking day, thank you

 

[fallagin]

wow lol. perfect

Bwahahahaha, I cant get over that Mconnel face :lol

 

[Mario]

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/vance-mcallister-kissing-staffer-video

Man, I feel it's been a while since we had a good ol' affair in Congress.

Lucky for him it's with a woman at least, or else he might be in trouble.

Even if it was with a man, a single press conference out front of his house, wife and children by his side, professing how he let his family and God down, how he was sorry for giving into temptation, and he'd be back to normal, surely?

That approach seems to be the Republican get out of infidelity jail free card.

 

[benjipwns]

Yeah, he's a very good writer, very eager. Not so hot interviewer. Usually kinda meh when he leads Vice podcasts.

I`m kinda baffled by his political identity, though. Man identifies himself as a conservative, but... unless he's using some bizarro definition of conservative, I just can't see it, to be honest.

It's an older definition, one actually not that out of place with National Review's past. WFB would have liked him and Kevin Williamson.

I'm not so sure if WFB would have liked Miss K-Lo so much.

 

[speculawyer]

HAM Reid is best Reid. His absolute and unwavering behavior during the run up to the shutdown has endeared him to me forever.

Yeah, I went from practically wanting him kicked out of office to becoming a fan. And he was quite the bulldog during the Obama/Romney election.

 

[speculawyer]

Did you see the story on Rand Paul going hard against Dick Cheney? Wow.

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/04/rand-paul-dick-cheney-exploited-911-iraq-halliburton
Give them the clicks, they deserve it. Video on their site.

There's a great YouTube of Dick Cheney in 1995 defending [President] Bush No. 1 [and the decision not to invade Baghdad in the first Gulf War], and he goes on for about five minutes. He's being interviewed, I think, by the American Enterprise Institute, and he says it would be a disaster, it would be vastly expensive, it'd be civil war, we would have no exit strategy. He goes on and on for five minutes. Dick Cheney saying it would be a bad idea. And that's why the first Bush didn't go into Baghdad. Dick Cheney then goes to work for Halliburton. Makes hundreds of millions of dollars, their CEO. Next thing you know, he's back in government and it's a good idea to go into Iraq.

....

The day after 9/11, [CIA chief] George Tenet is going in the [White] House and [Pentagon adviser] Richard Perle is coming out of the White House. And George Tenet should know more about intelligence than anybody in the world, and the first thing Richard Perle says to him on the way out is, "We've got it, now we can go into Iraq." And George Tenet, who supposedly knows as much intelligence as anybody in the White House says, "Well, don't we need to know that they have some connection to 9/11?" And, he [Perle] says, "It doesn't matter." It became an excuse. 9/11 became an excuse for a war they already wanted in Iraq.

Wow! That is like something straight out of DailyKos. Republican cat-fight! Meow!

Edit: Is this worth its own thread? I find it pretty amazing.

 

[zero shift]

Yeah, he's a very good writer, very eager. Not so hot interviewer. Usually kinda meh when he leads Vice podcasts.

I`m kinda baffled by his political identity, though. Man identifies himself as a conservative, but... unless he's using some bizarro definition of conservative, I just can't see it, to be honest.

He is an arch neo-liberal. He makes The Economist seem sponsored by CEPR. He basically states that government can do virtually nothing right in business and that the government had next to nothing to do with the invention of the internet, as well as that we should stop giving clothes to Africa as charity because it hurts competition of the private sector.

 

[speculawyer]

dp

 

[BSsBrolly]

Is Jimmy Fallon a republican? I see a lot of Fallon ball licking from my conservative friends on Facebook...

 

[NYCmetsfan]

Is Jimmy Fallon a republican? I see a lot of Fallon ball licking from my conservative friends on Facebook...

He makes fun of everyone. I doubt he is personally.

 

[Aaron Strife]

http://www.katv.com/story/25186022/talk-business-us-senate-race-polling#.U0Mw5SxPLD0.twitter

Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Mark Pryor holds a small three-point lead over his Republican rival, Congressman Tom Cotton, in the latest Talk Business/Hendrix College Poll.

45.5% (D) Mark Pryor

42.5% (R) Tom Cotton

2% (L) Nathan LaFrance

2% (G) Mark Swaney

Good news, I've seen a lot of people count out Pryor's chances.

 

[Oblivion]

Is Jimmy Fallon a republican? I see a lot of Fallon ball licking from my conservative friends on Facebook...

I think it's cause he did a sketch with Sarah Palin recently and didn't make her look bad.

 

[B-Dubs]

I think it's cause he did a sketch with Sarah Palin recently and didn't make her look bad.

How is that even possible?

 

[WayneMorse]

http://www.katv.com/story/25186022/talk-business-us-senate-race-polling#.U0Mw5SxPLD0.twitter


Good news, I've seen a lot of people count out Pryor's chances.

Considering he was down by 7 in other previous polling I consider this promising.

Best case scenario Democrats manage to hold every seat except for South Dakota and West Virginia, and pickup Georgia and Kentucky.

 

[Mario]

How is that even possible?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwBZObfp24c

Seems like some very subtle ribbing there.

 

[PhoenixDark]

http://www.katv.com/story/25186022/talk-business-us-senate-race-polling#.U0Mw5SxPLD0.twitter


Good news, I've seen a lot of people count out Pryor's chances.

He's done. Under 50% against a war hero in the Deep South.

 

[theprodigy]

Good news,

He's done.

thisispoligaf.webm

lol

 

[NYCmetsfan]

I just got a call from a Republican Senator to be "real life example" in an upcoming speech of his to talk about of the effects of the "downed economy"

Lulz

 

[thezerofire]

I just got a call from a Republican Senator to be "real life example" in an upcoming speech of his to talk about of the effects of the "downed economy"

Lulz

So you're going to take it and go completely off script?

 

[NYCmetsfan]

So you're going to take it and go completely off script?

Nah, I'd just be an mention and probably stand next to them during a speech. Every politician does it.

I'm not a dick though. I know exactly how they got my info and it says a lot about their search for examples.

 

[Sibylus]

So you're going to take it and go completely off script?

I assume this is for inclusion in a prepared speech.

 

[rocketknight]

Nah, I'd just be an mention and probably stand next to them during a speech. Every politician does it.

I'm not a dick though. I know exactly how they got my info and it says a lot about their search for examples.

Care to go into detail? I'm interested.

 

[Aaron Strife]

thisispoligaf.webm

lol

hahahahaha

good show

He's done. Under 50% against a war hero in the Deep South.

man i'd love to see what your response would have been if he were actually losing

Considering he was down by 7 in other previous polling I consider this promising.

Best case scenario Democrats manage to hold every seat except for South Dakota and West Virginia, and pickup Georgia and Kentucky.

yeah this is what i'm hoping for though right now i think we'll lose montana. there needs to be more polling there though, and the polls from 2012 at this time had tester losing by like ten points. hopefully there will be a libertarian on the ballot

 

[speculawyer]

Nah, I'd just be an mention and probably stand next to them during a speech. Every politician does it.

I'm not a dick though. I know exactly how they got my info and it says a lot about their search for examples.

Pussy at least waste their time.

 

[thepotatoman]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwBZObfp24c

Seems like some very subtle ribbing there.

I think Michelle Obama's Fallon skit was funnier, but neither should quit their day job.

But yeah, I've noticed a lot more Fallon worship from the conservative side of the internet since he had Bill O'Reilly and Palin on and made a few jokes about Obamacare, but nothing really super politically charged. It reminds me of this reaction to House of Cards. I guess entertainment is so rarely conservative that they have to take whatever they can get.

Fallon also makes use of the frat boy Biden persona all the time in monologs, but that's simply because frat boy Biden jokes are hilarious.

 

[Aaron Strife]

Fallon endorsed Obama in 2012, but more importantly he's a comedian which means he takes shots at everyone if it makes for a good joke. Republicans don't really understand that so whenever a comedian makes a joke about liberals they assume they're one of them.

 

[Avon Barksdale]

Jon Stewart has criticized Obama in the past, that must mean he's a Republican.

 

[PhoenixDark]

Is Jimmy Fallon a republican? I see a lot of Fallon ball licking from my conservative friends on Facebook...

He makes fun of everyone, like most hosts. Remember he had Michelle Obama on his show during its first week to promote Obamacare.

I always find it interesting that conservatives crave validation so much that they get so excited whenever a celeb criticizes the president, even when it's in jest.

 

[Crisco]

Did you see the story on Rand Paul going hard against Dick Cheney? Wow.

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/04/rand-paul-dick-cheney-exploited-911-iraq-halliburton
Give them the clicks, they deserve it. Video on their site.



Wow! That is like something straight out of DailyKos. Republican cat-fight! Meow!

Edit: Is this worth its own thread? I find it pretty amazing.

Wow, a republican calling out the Bush administration on something we've known since at least 2004. How noble. If they had joined the crescendo back then, it may have actually made a difference.

 

[NYCmetsfan]

Care to go into detail? I'm interested.

I don't have any secret info or anything (and wouldn't share it anyways) I just got a call from a staffer saying they got my name and wanted to know if I wanted to be featured in a speech about people "having a hard time".

I know someone in their office who is the person I imagine gave my name and the fact they even followed up is lol on their part.

The person knows I'm a dem and I am by no means 'suffering'.

Pussy at least waste their time.

Why? They're not stupid and what does it accomplish besides being a dick?

 

[RustyNails]

I think only Leno is a republican. Surprised many conservatives didn't favorite him when he was on air.

But liberals make fun of Democrats all the freaking time. Obamacare launch fiasco was late night comedy gold. Bill Maher hates GOP but talks down to Democrats including Obama all the time. Jon Stewart sometimes veers into CNN's both sides are equally bad territory.

 

[kehs]

The dems in position deserve all the hate they get for not taking advantage of all the opportunities they've been handed.

Obama's presidency has been outstanding considering the circumstances, he'll go down in history as blah blah blah milestone blah blah a shift of mentality blah blah blah, but the footnote he'll always have is that the democrats holding him up were pussies. Sure Reid and Co stepped up before getting thrown into the furnace, but they had so much grip they didn't leverage it's appalling.

It's like watching joe montana downing the last two minutes in a tied game.

 

[Plinko]

If anybody wants to see why I don't ever want to move back to Michigan, here's an example:

http://www.mlive.com/lansing-news/index.ssf/2014/04/roads_rick_snyder_republicans.html

Republican plan to only fund road projects in their districts exposes pettiness


They'll fix your pothole-pocked roads all right -- as long as you live in a GOP district.

There were 108 road projects approved by Republican leaders -- Gov. Rick Snyder, House Speaker Jase Bolger (R-Marshall) and Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville (R-Monroe).

Crain's Detroit Business reports 87 of those were requested by Republican lawmakers and just two by Democrats. Snyder OK'd 12 of the additional 19 in Democratic districts.

Just as a quick recap, the GOP is firmly in control of the Legislature, but not at an 87:2 ratio. (The Senate is divided 26-12 and the House is 59-50-1).

Snip

More at link.

 

[Aaron Strife]

PPP polling dump

Maine Governor

Paul LePage (R-inc) 37
Mike Michaud (D) 44
Eliot Cutler (I) 14

Florida Governor

Rick Scott (R-inc) 42
Charlie Crist (D) 49

Pennsylvania Governor

Tom Corbett (R-inc) 34
Generic Democrat 56

Georgia Governor

Nathan Deal (R-inc) 42
Jason Carter (D) 43

Kansas Governor

Sam Brownback (R-inc) 41
Paul Davis (D) 45

Kentucky Senate

Mitch McConnell (R-inc) 44
Alison Lundergan Grimes (D) 45

Virginia Senate

Mark Warner (D-inc) 49
Ed Gillespie (R) 35

By the way these were all conducted for MoveOn.org primarily to poll people about the Medicaid expansion, though PPP threw in the horse race numbers before they asked about any actual policy (so they're not push polls or anything).

Don't worry though it's still bad news for Democrats and Ed Gillespie is going to turn Virginia into a tossup because Terry McAuliffe won the governor's race and that's good for Republicans somehow.

Btw PD if you want to see what "doomed" looks like look at those Pennsylvania numbers. Not Mark Pryor only leading by 3

 

[The Librarian]

 

[Plinko]

This is a joke, right?

 

[The Librarian]

This is a joke, right?

Fake, apparently. Pretty funny though.

 

[theprodigy]

Fake, apparently. Pretty funny though.

I thought it was real
I'm not sure whether that says more about me or about Fox

 

[speculawyer]

PPP polling dump


By the way these were all conducted for MoveOn.org primarily to poll people about the Medicaid expansion, though PPP threw in the horse race numbers before they asked about any actual policy (so they're not push polls or anything).

Don't worry though it's still bad news for Democrats and Ed Gillespie is going to turn Virginia into a tossup because Terry McAuliffe won the governor's race and that's good for Republicans somehow.

Btw PD if you want to see what "doomed" looks like look at those Pennsylvania numbers. Not Mark Pryor only leading by 3

Holy crap. The GOP may make some gains in the Senate but it looks like they may lose more than that in Governorships. And I can't blame the people, the state GOP parties have gone really loopy with anti-abortion stuff, education cuts, etc. And some of those people are just crazy characters like Nutty Paul LePage and corporate-man Rick Scott and theocrat Brownback.

 

[Aaron Strife]

Holy crap. The GOP may make some gains in the Senate but it looks like they may lose more than that in Governorships. And I can't blame the people, the state GOP parties have gone really loopy with anti-abortion stuff, education cuts, etc. And some of those people are just crazy characters like Nutty Paul LePage and corporate-man Rick Scott and theocrat Brownback.

I could see it being a repeat of 1986, where Democrats gained big in the Senate (because the last election was in 1980 when the GOP picked up 12 seats - Dems picked up 8 in 86), while losing 8 governorships (since the last mass gubernatorial elections were in 1982, where Democrats won on Reagan's unpopularity at the time). But in reverse now, obviously.

But realistically speaking, Democrats keeping the Senate at all would be a win, so even if they lost like 4 seats or so while picking up plenty of governor's mansions I can't imagine the RNC would be very happy with that result.

Btw PPP released another poll for Michigan, Gary Peters leads in the Senate race by 5 while Rick Snyder leads the gubernatorial race by 4. His approval rating is 40-48. Hoping Democrats can score a win here

 

[WayneMorse]

PPP polling dump


By the way these were all conducted for MoveOn.org primarily to poll people about the Medicaid expansion, though PPP threw in the horse race numbers before they asked about any actual policy (so they're not push polls or anything).

Don't worry though it's still bad news for Democrats and Ed Gillespie is going to turn Virginia into a tossup because Terry McAuliffe won the governor's race and that's good for Republicans somehow.

Btw PD if you want to see what "doomed" looks like look at those Pennsylvania numbers. Not Mark Pryor only leading by 3

They didn't poll Michigan, Wisconsin or Ohio

 

[Aaron Strife]

They didn't poll Michigan, Wisconsin or Ohio

http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/...-sen-snyder-continues-to-hold-small-edge.html

Merry Christmas