There are two things I want to touch on in this post, One, that the GOP is constantly claiming to re-invent themselves and 2nd, that Eric Cantor, admitted, to the national press, that the Republicans have been lying about their good intentions for decades. And 3rd, that the Democrats aren't gonna do a damn thing about it. (OK, that's 3 things but the 3rd is a given)
Yesterday, TwoPuttTomey posted the Emmer Promo which ends with Emmer declaring that "It's time for a new direction". Amen to that Brother. That Pawlenty character really screwed the pooch. As ridiculous as Mr. Emmer's statement seemed it reminded me of how often the Republicans have to claim to have re-invented themselves and are headed in a new direction. And how their new directions always end in the same place. Scandal and incompetence.
After the Nixon corruption they claimed "A new kind of Republican" to bring in the Reagan era. After Iran Contra and the S&L collapse they came up with "Contract with America". After not fulfilling a single item in that "Contract" and Speaker Gingrich's departure shrouded in allegations of corruption, they decide they were going to "Return dignity to the White House" and we all know what happened then. (That word "Dignity", I don't think it means what they think it means.) And now, in their latest rendition of this game plan, They've come out and admitted to being completely untrustworthy.
In an interview with POLITCO.com discussing the forth coming GOP plan for how they will govern after retaking the house (measuring the drapes already?) Eric Cantor, house minority whip, made this telling admission.
He said that he
believes voters are ready once again to trust the GOP
(so they weren't trustworthy before?)
The article continues in saying
- he [Eric Cantor] said that Republicans have "demonstrated that we've learned from our mistakes in the past." They've reworked their policy on ethics -
(so they're still learning this whole "ethics" thing?)
The Republicans sound like an abusive alcoholic claiming "I know I did you wrong before baby but things will be different this time, Really! I mean it!" Its a momentous opportunity to form a single, consistent and compelling message for all the congressional races. Fooled me once, shame on you. Fooled me twice .....hey! No wonder W had such a hard time getting out. If people weren't fooled over and over again, they'd a been voted into extinction 35 years ago.
You know, when the GOP is laying gold like this right in our hands we can't lose. ...unless not a single Democrat seizes this opportunity.
(Excellent interviews with Tarryl Clark and Jim Meffert. - promoted by TwoPuttTommy)
Today, Bill Prendergast launches a thoughtfully alarming perspective from a Michael Tomaski column on the fear that seems to be taming the Democratic mule; the glut of conservative and conservative crazy media and the nation's economic malaise.
I doubt that Plato Avenue DFL brass are scheming with a bunker mentality (I know number of Democrats who are) but their two most potent congressional challengers, Tarryl Clark (CD6) and Jim Meffert (CD3) show no fear at all.
They are strong, tell-it-like-it-is candidates. They are motivators who have shucked the "Minnesota Nice" political procedurals in their respective takes on Michelle Bachmann and Bachmann's buttoned-down soul mate Eric Paulsen. Meffert and Clark are impassioned and honest candidates with media appeal and moxie. In its small way, DFL Senate District 42 (Eden Prairie and Minnetonka) is getting that message out on cable television and the Democratic Visions Channel on YouTube - regional television has ignored these two. So, check out these YouTubes:
See them on MTN Channel 17 Sundays at 7 pm and on Comcast Channel 15 (Eden Prairie, Richfield, Hopkins, Edina and Mtka) Wednesdays at 5:30 pm and Sundays at 9 p.m. and Bloomington Cable Ch. 16 on Tues at 2:00 p.m. & 10:00 p.m. and Wed at 2:00 p.m.
Whenever I meet these two, the Democratic Mule in me starts bucking and kicking with gusto and purpose. Our timid local progressives need to join MPP and a few others in some loud snorting, braying and kicking -- Meffert and Clark have earned a stampede of media support to carry them to Washington.
Minnesota 3rd district incumbent Congressman Erik Palsen had one of his rare Town Hall meetings Monday, August 2, in Edina, Minnesota. Paulsen has preferred telephone meetings to face-to-face gatherings, with good reason. In a public meeting some embarrassing questions are asked.
Even before the meeting began he declined to shake hands with challenger Jim Meffert.
OK, everyone knows that Tom Emmer really, Really, REALLY stepped in it - BIG TIME - with his, well, essentially: "Let's cut the paychecks of waitrons EVERYWHERE!" comment.
And saying something really, Really, REALLY stupid is nothing new for Tom Emmer; my favorite Emmerism is this:
"I don't think you can call yourself a freedom-loving American and be a Democrat." -- Tom Emmer, 9-26-09
(Marshall Independent)
And I was really, Really, REALLY happy when today's GreedOverPrinciples Party picked Emmer to be at the top of the ticket; I knew not only would that one come back to bite him but that there would be more!!!
But, here's the deal: Emmer isn't stupid. Sure, he says stupid things, but there's a reason he says 'em: they're designed to get him something (like an endorsement, from the Teabagging base of today's Small Tent Party).
So, I wondered who might benefit the most from Emmer's latest scheme to screw those with the least.... hmmm... hmmm - just who could that be?
Hey - might be this guy, current Chair of the republiCon Party of Minnesota, none other than FEC Taco Tony!!!
Yes, Ladies and Gentleman, click here for an Employment Application at one of GOPer Tony Sutton's tacoterias, and send the link to your kid. Why should you fork out big bucks for the kid's college, when there's an easy $100,000 to be made taking tacos to tables, or filling margaritas by the pitcher?
And get those high-paying jobs fast; Tom Emmer just doesn't think it's fair his pal Taco Tony has to shell out the big bucks to unappreciative waitrons, when a chunk o' that tip money could - and SHOULD - be going to Tony! And in Tom Emmer's Minnesota, if he's elected to the corner office, that's exactly what would happen.
So don't delay, do it today: hustle your kid down to the nearest Taco Tony's while the gettin's good!!!
MN Republican Gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer is going to start focusing on "the Help": Since they, according to him, already make "over $100,000" as waiters and bartenders, they should get a cut in pay from their employer.
Wage stats from Minnesota's Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) indicate that those $100,000 servers are the rarest of people.
The median wage for the 45,000 waiters and waitresses in the state is $9.36 an hour, including tips, meaning that if a server is working full time, he or she could make a little more than $19,000 a year. In the Twin Cities, servers do a little better - the median hourly wage is $10.57. But the waiter in southwestern Minnesota is being paid less than $8 an hour, including tips, according to the state's statistics.
Emmer, who spoke at the Eagle Street Grill, a popular hot spot at the Xcel Energy Center in St Paul, said the owner told him that three of the restaurant staffs are taking over $100,000 a year. Emmer, who's apparently only looking out for the little guy, sprung the idea on the crowd. (Which, I'm sure, became the worst group of tippers the Eagle Street Grill has seen in years.)
His complaint doesn't make a lot of sense because it flies in the face of the GOP's track-record! If what he says is true, then why wouldn't he be pushing for tax breaks for these wealthy bartenders and waiters?! And, shouldn't they be permanent tax-cuts?! If everybody is tipping 20% of their drink and meal tabs, then why would the bar/restaurant owners care about a measly $9.36 per hour wage? If my math is correct; with a generous 20% gratuity per tab equates to an excess of $100,000 annually per waiter, then the restaurant owner is pulling in excess of $500,000 per year, per waiter/bartender! That only means permanent tax-breaks for everybody that works at that place!!
My dear departed grandmother worked most of her adult life as a waitress at Bill's Cafe in Deer River, Minnesota. Let me be the first to inform Tom Emmer: Grandma never made $100,000 a year in tips.
Mike Bellamy teaches English literature and rhetoric at the University of St. Thomas, while also directing an English Master's Program. Francis Bellamy, who wrote the Pledge of Alllegiance is the first cousin of Mike's great-grandfather. Mike Bellamy's research reveals the following:
The pledge was written by a socialist! Francis Bellamy was a Christian Socialist. As a Baptist minister, Francis got into trouble by trying to insert "social justice" into Christianity. The parish effectively fired him by cutting his salary drastically so that he had to find a different job.
The pledge was an ad campaign to sell magazines in 1892!
Whatever else the "Pledge" has accomplished since then, the flag campaign that made it famous coincided with a huge increase in The Youth's Companion's circulation, something like a 50% increase, from about 4000,000, that is, to over 600,000.
The pledge was designed as the beginning of a civil religion, bringing the strength of religious belief into "patriotism".
Most obvious was the need to acculturate, or "naturalize" as the odd term has it, a teeming influx of immigrants. Their usefulness as immigrant "operatives" who worked in America's factories did little to ally the uneasiness of nativist sentiment. It was felt that these great unwashed, especially the more swarthy Eastern and Southern European ones, who "inherit no love for our country," as Margaret Miller puts it in her history of the "Pledge," had to be imbued with a "thoroughly American feeling" .
Last Saturday, while Guest Hosting "Radio Cafe With Cathy Hauser," Erik Hare and I talked about Professor Frankfurt's book ("On Bullsh*t"), Erik's post over at Barataria, this post (and the subsequent comments!), the media's role in propagating/covering BS, and how BS seems to be the modus operandi of today's Republican Party.
Last July, we chronicled Steele County Republican Party Co-Chair Dave Thul and his dirty tricks - in Part 1 and in Part 2 and in Part 3 and in Part 4.
From "Part 2" --
And Steele County Republican Party Co-Chair Dave Thul's allegation regarding the picture is just as bogus, as I (tried) to explain to Steele County Republican Party Co-Chair Dave Thul last week; the sign does NOT read "Enduring Freedom Veterans" followed by "for Kerry" - the sign reas "Enduring Freedom" followed by "Veterans for Kerry."
From "Part 4: --
Yes, gentle readers, that's Steele County Republican Party Co-Chair Dave Thul calling Congressman Tim Walz a "phony soldier." And that BS about the photograph? COMPLETE BS. Of course, would anyone expect anything else from the party of Tony Sutton and Michael Brodkorb?
From an email I sent to Dave Thul on July 13th, 2009 --
> > > Oh - and you should know, in that sign? The bottom says "Veterans
> > > For Kerry" which was an organized group of Veterans supporting John
> > > Kerry. It included a Swift Boat Captain that now resides in Eden
> > > Prairie.
> > >
> > >
> > > While YOU seem to claim that sign reads "Enduring Freedom Veterans"
> > > I'm guessing the fact that there was a "Veterans For Kerry" group
> > > blows a huge hole in the story Michael Brodkorb loves to spin.
That was last July.
What did FORMER Steele County Republican Party Co-Chair, and NOW GOP Endorsed Candidate for House District 26-A post on his blog, last week?
And after 2 1/2 years of asking, neither Rep Walz, his staff, or any liberal blogger have been able to explain to me why Walz claimed to be an 'Enduring Freedom Veteran" back in 2004 in this picture- (picture, below the fold)
BULLSH*T. Complete and utter BULLSH*T.
Can't call what Dave Thul wrote a "lie," because it is far beyond lying; as Erik asked:
Is it really a lie when the person making an outrageous statement doesn't actually care if it's the truth or not?
When they don't care they are "bullsh*tters" - because they simply don't care if what they say (or, as in Thul's case, write) is true or not. GOPers don't care if what they say/write is true or not; they only care that the voter thinks it's true.
And that's why the GOP's newly endorsed candidate for House District 26-A, Dave Thul, is Today's Example Of Why Reasonable People Can No Longer Reasonably Assume GOPers Are Telling The Truth.
So Margaret Anderson-Kelliher picked John Gunyou as her running mate. So what? Well, running mates do matter.
Anyone remember Sarah Palin?
Look at what damage Lt. Gov. Carol Molnau did as unapproved Commissioner of Transportation ... we don't call Tim Pawlenty Governor BridgeFail for nothing.
Mike Hatch's Lt. Gov. caused a kerfluffle, as you may recall, that ended up costing her candidate the election. Judi Dutcher had been asked a series of questions about the 2nd amendment, guns and gun rights. When the next question she was asked about E85, she blanked. At Hatch's next presser he got pissed at Republican media personality Tom Hauser Duluth Trib reporter Scott Wente and called him a *****.
So ... in light of MAK choosing Gunyou, I'd like to compare and contrast Gunyou to Republican candidates Tom Emmer's running mate Annette Meeks.
On the one hand we have a running mate with extensive bipartisan experience. On the other hand, we have a very partisan ideologue.
On one side we have a LG pick who is a complement to the candidate and can talk jobs and economics just as well as the candidate. On the other side we have a LG pick who bolsters a candidate who is weak on policy issues.
(Mr. Cox writes: "Republicans certainly did no harm to those at the top. Everyone else pretty much got creamed." -- yep. - promoted by TwoPuttTommy)
By Wayne Cox
Governor Tim Pawlenty and Republican leader Rep. Kurt Zellers gave one of their "black is white" press briefings after Pawlenty agreed to a budget deal Sunday night. They claimed the principle they followed in the budget deal was "do no harm."
That must mean no harm to Governor Pawlenty's hope of gaining the Republican nomination for President. Most Minnesotans, however, will find tough times just got tougher--for vulnerable people, for businesses, for hospitals, for cities, for school children, for jobs and for taxpayers.
By rejecting the Medicaid option, Governor Pawlenty blocked efforts to do right by the tens of thousands of Minnesotans he had placed in health care limbo. He rejected a plan that would have returned financial stability to health care and hospital services. He rejected the 20,000 private sector jobs that the plan the DFL sought would have provided. He turned his back on $1.4 billion of desperately needed federal dollars. He seems to think federal aid is tainted money. He's right. It's money that taint coming here.
As I am talking to folks across Ramsey county, I surprised to hear Republicans splitting themselves into two groups: Roosevelt Republicans vs Tea Party Republicans. The Roosevelt Republicans are Republican brand loyal from the days of President Roosevelt, yet they feel alienated from the current Republican party. Both groups are calling each other not-real Republicans.
Roosevelt Republicans like less taxes and yet are winning to raise taxes if the cause is worthy enough. Roosevelt Republicans like balanced budgets, government that actually works and would rather stay out of social issues.
Tea Party Republicans think think that taxes are forbidden unless one is building a stadium. They think that government should disappear except for enforcing social issues as long as the social issues are only considered from only their perspective.
The point here is that if someone gave the Roosevelt Republicans some visibility and if a leader appeared, then Republican party will probably go to full out war. Emmer is clearly a Tea Party candidate. Is the independent Tom Horner a candidate for the Roosevelt Republicans? Can Tom Horner be that leader?
The split is there. Can Democrats craft persuasions that will appeal to Roosevelt Republicans? Can we identify and track them? Here is an opportunity for better government in Minnesota, if we can find a way to build bridges to connect with Roosevelt Republicans to win elections.
Yesterday, the Independence Party nominated former Republican Tom Horner as their MN-GOV candidate. Horner's entrance into this race makes it far more likely that a DFLer will win in November.
In 2006, Peter Hutchinson won the IP endorsement and split the moderates with liberal tendencies away from DFLer Mike Hatch, but Horner will have little appeal to these voters. No, Horner will be peeling away moderate conservatives who cannot stomach Tom Emmer's far right agenda.
The Matt Entenza campaigns press release email sums it all up:
"The people of Minnesota should know there are now two Republicans in the race for governor: Tom Horner and Tom Emmer. Come August, there will be only one Democrat in the race, but there will still be two Republicans in the race, even if one of them has put on a different label for now.
"Minnesotans understand we can't simply cut nor simply tax our way to greatness. They deserve to hear a real vision for their future; a vision about keeping the jobs we have and creating new jobs and restoring our commitment to education so that our state becomes number one again. I am the candidate with that vision."
This also makes the road for Margaret Anderson-Kelliher easier if she ends up winning the August DFL primary. Instead of needing to make sure a moderate candidate with liberal tendencies (like Hutchinson) doesn't peel away her voters, she needs to focus on higher turnout in key DFL areas. MAK would still need to build up the money for her general election run, but her path is clearer which should make her fundraising easier.
Furthermore, if Mark Dayton or Matt Entenza end up prevailing in the primary, the path to victory is pretty simple for them.
So ... from the bottom of my heart, thank you, Tom Horner, for paving the way to a DFLer finally winning a MN-GOV race.
As I celebrated May Day by laying sod in my backyard, I was thinking about the upcoming Governor's race. The Republicans have their guy, Tom Emmer. Emmer's path is clear whereas Margaret Anderson-Kelliher (MAK), Mark Dayton and Matt Entenza will vie in an August primary for the privilege of facing Emmer.
Many people have griped that if MAK wins the primary, she'll have to spend down in order to defeat these self-funded candidates. She'll then have a mountain to climb to make herself competitive in the general. I'm not as worried about that as you might think and I'll tell you why after the fold.
On the eve of the Republican's state convention, a major national political figure weighed in on our li'l ol' Governor's race. Sarah Palin endorsed Tom Emmer. While this is a serious boost to Emmer's endorsement chances, this is a kiss of death in the general election.
The Republican base loves, loves, loves Sarah Palin. A couple of months back they thronged the Mall of America to get their books autographed during her book tour. Earlier this month, thousands filled the Minneapolis Convention Center for a Palin-Bachmann rally.
But what do most Minnesotans think of Sarah Palin? The most accurate recent polling data, the 2008 election, indicate that she's not all that popular.
The party that doesn't believe in government and proves they are incapable of governing every time they're in charge have a candidate for Minnesota Governor who has picked the ultimate Republican Lieutenant Governor running mate. Tom Emmer has picked Annette Meeks. Why is this so perfect?
Tom Emmer's choice for lieutenant governor once worked on a policy paper that suggested the state didn't really need a lieutenant governor.
To be sure, the wording wasn't quite that clear.
"As it currently stands we do not believe that a lieutenant governor performs a necessary function or that it is in the best interest of the state to subject the office of lieutenant governor to the ambiguity under which it currently exists," stated the 1998 Center of the American Experiment report (PDF), which had several authors.
I couldn't even invent a worse running mate. The material just writes itself.
The DFL emailed this statement from Party Chair Brian Melendez:
The Tea Party Express sure has been making a lot of noise lately, especially here in Minnesota, and ever since the politically impossible became possible when the Obama Administration-backed and Democratically lead Congress passed Health Care Reform and it recently became law of the land.
So what is the Tea Party Express national bus tour all about, anyway? Well, according to their website, the purpose of the tour is to "highlight some of the worst offenders in Congress who have voted for higher spending, higher taxes, and government intervention in the lives of American families and businesses." Their slogan is, "Just Vote Them Out."
With all the images of Tea Partiers carrying guns, signs of Obama as Stalin/Hitler/pick your favorite socialist or dictator, and shouts of "baby killer", "Armageddon," and "anti-Christ," at the rallies, I could help but wonder, "that's it?". On Wikipedia, their positions and goals are summed up in two sentences "...constitutionally limited government generally,[12][13] and more specifically is anti-stimulus,[14] anti-deficit,[15] anti-bailout[16] and anti-health reform."
OK then, I get it. No taxes, hence the April 15th rally at the nation's capital, and pretty much against anything else our government is trying to do for the people based on what the majority of folks actually voted for. Wow. I really miss the days of 2008 when a lot of my friends, oh so young and idealistic, were a part of the Ron Paul Revolution, and we had real substantive debates about inflation, the Federal Reserve (they converted me on that one), monetary policy, excise taxes, cuts in spending (including military), tariffs, civil liberties, and even health care. We often found common ground, like breaking up the government-enforced monopolies of HMOs and pharmaceutical companies, over a pint of friendly beer.
So who the heck is Ron Paul, anyway, and where is he? He used to be "America's #1 defender of individual liberty fighting for us in the nation's capitol!" Dr. Paul is a physician and Republican Congressman for the 14th congressional district of Texas, and made a spirited run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, when I first heard of him. He was sort of like the Dennis Kucinich of the right field. You know, a true maverick.
On the surface, Ron Paul seems like the perfect leader for the Tea Party movement; he's experienced nationally, extremely bright and knowledgeable of the issues, has a great Netroots base and is a surprisingly strong fundraiser. He even one this year's coveted Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) presidential straw poll, eking out Mitt Romney who won the prize the previous three years. Paul seems like a Libertarian's Republican, and is pretty candid in front of the cameras for that red meat 24-hour cable news factor, O'Reilly or otherwise. Well maybe that's the problem.
You see, today's Tea Party "leaders" (speakers) are more about getting air-time then getting results for the country. It's really just a front for Dick Army to raise large sums of money for his PAC to elect even more far-right Republicans of the status quo. If this was a true revolutionary movement (democratic and nonviolent), then why won't Rep. Ron Paul be caught dead near one of their rallies? Or maybe he was never invited?
In a fairly recent interview, Ron Paul noted that, "Neocon issues in public policy are not exactly dead these days," and, "Everybody likes to join what looks like a popular movement, then they want to come in and influence that movement," Paul continued. So don't expect Sarah Palin to be advocating to end to drug war, or to have the Federal Reserve Bank audited any time soon. Never mind a thoughtful discussion on foreign policy, border security, or energy policy. It's all still "drill, baby, drill" from here on out for the Tea Party People, as Sarah Palin spouted today in her key note speech at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference.
At least Ron Paul will be on all those serious news shows, like Kucinich still is from time to time, right? Well, Fox News, Limbaugh, Beck, etc. seem keep his voice down and the Bachmann's and Palin's of the world at full volume. Just sit back and watch, Republicans and the Tea Party will actually protect the Fed, Wall Street and the Banksters in the next-up national debate on financial services reform, justifying much-needed regulation as a "government takeover." Yawn. We could really use a substantive debate from conservatives and libertarians right now. However, we've been getting pretty much a watered-down version from some centrist and corporate Democrats.
And that's a shame. Not so much for Progressives like myself, who's voice has been pretty coherent and unified as of late, but rather for the thousands who attend these Tea Party rallies who have legitimate concerns about the role of government. It's really too bad they don't have any new ideas to address those concerns, other than "just vote them out," although Ron Paul certainly does. Instead it's just the same old, same old, Tom Delay/George W. Bush ideas of the past. But this time, the difference is lipstick.
So Margaret Anderson-Kelliher picked John Gunyou as her running mate. So what? Well, running mates do matter.
As I celebrated May Day by laying sod in my backyard, I was thinking about the upcoming Governor's race. The Republicans have their guy, Tom Emmer. Emmer's path is clear whereas Margaret Anderson-Kelliher (MAK), Mark Dayton and Matt Entenza will vie in an August primary for the privilege of facing Emmer.
The Tea Party Express sure has been 
