PETERBOROUGH, N.H.—John McCain hugged Mitt Romney today as he endorsed his campaign. Four years ago, he wanted to hug Romney long enough to stop his breathing. (Slate.com)

So, what was McCain saying about Romney, four years ago? Let’s look!!!

So, how does McCain justify that epic flipflop, from ripping Romney 4 years ago, to stepping up for him now? Back to Slate:

Bygones.

But if the enemy of my enemy is my friend, it does not mean he’s my boon companion.

“…if the enemy of my enemy is my friend…”

Hey, THERE’S a real “Christian” philosophy, yes?

I guess what that really means any flipflop is ok, as long as it’s in the interest of making sure Obama is a one term president. Grinding the country to a stop – like the GOPers do in the GOP controlled US House, and the filibustered tyranny of the minority in the US Senate, is ok — as long as it’s in the interest of making sure Obama is a one term president. Taking care of their Boardroom Base is ok — as long as it’s in the interest of making sure Obama is a one term president.

McCain didn’t have to come out for a guy he ripped four years ago – correctly – as a serial flipflopper; he could have just stayed on the sidelines and let the process play out before stepping in for his team’s endorsed candidate. But he didn’t; he jumped in now for a guy he ripped mercilessly — and, again, correctly.

The Big E used to track The Court-Certified “4th Most Most Corrupt Senator In Congress” – GOPer Norm Coleman – in a repository called “The Norm Coleman Weasel Meter”. Ol’ Smokescreen (Norm Coleman) has got nothin’ on Mittens, in the way of flipflops! Comparatively, Norm’s an amatuer. McCain ripped Romney for that flipflopping back then; now he’s got Mitten’s back.

Today’s GOP is morally bankrupt, intellectually dishonest, and institutionally corrupt.

And has been pointed out before, one person pointing that out was then-RNC Chair Michael Steele: “You have absolutely no reason – none – to trust our words or our actions at this point.”.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: You Couldn’t Trust The GOP Then, You Still Can’t Now, And Tomorrow Won’t Be Any Different

(cross posted at MnProgressiveProject; comments welcome there)

So if ol’ Smokescreen won’t even disclose who was pickin’ up his electric bill, what are the odds of finding out who’s contributing to the shadowy group Norm’s leading in the attack on Congressman Tim Walz?

Just who are these denizens of the dark that Norm Coleman is acting as the front-man for?

Perhaps, maybe, these guys? THEY don’t seem to believe in sunlight, either…. Let’s look!

(cross posted from MnProgressiveProject.com; please comment there)

We still don’t know – 802 days later – which GOPer Sugar Daddy(s) was(were) paying The 4th Most Corrupt Senator In Congress’ said utility bills, because – 802 days later – said utility bills have yet to be produced.

I bring this up, because it seems Minnesota’s Most Ethically-Challenged Politician, ol’ Smokescreen himself, Norm Coleman (the Court Certified “4th Most Corrupt Senator In Congress”) has popped up on the “Board Of Directors” of a GOPer money-laundering operation “independent nonprofit 501(c)(4) organization… not affiliated with or controlled by any political group. “

Yeah, “right.”

Stay tuned for the continuing saga of Norm “4th Most Corrupt Senator In Congress” Coleman, and remember:

It’s been 802 days since Norm Coleman’s Spokestool, Mark Drake, promised the assembled media he’d check with “the campaign” about providing an actual utility bill for Norm’s sweetheart deal for an apartment in a pal’s Washington, D.C. “shack” (it’s a million dollar townhouse), and get back to said media….

(cross posted from MnProgressiveProject.com; please post comments there)

@dbrauer Cullen Sheehan might be coming back to rescue Emmer? Get out popcorn for first good @rachelsb grilling! htp://bit.ly/baFi1j #everygiftever
about 1 hour ago via TweetDeck

This just might be what MinnPost’s David Brauer was referring to – let’s watch!

As MPP’s very own The Big E tweeted:

@eric_pusey Cullen Sheehan in as @tomemmer campaign mgr? htp://bit.ly/cd7GIN #facepalm #fail please please please please please please please please?
41 minutes ago via HootSuite

Sheehan, joining Tom “I don’t think you can call yourself a freedom-loving American and be a Democrat” Emmer?

#facepalm #fail please please please please please please please please?

(cross posted from MnProgressiveProject.com; comments welcome there)

First off, every – and I mean EVERY – candidate going for endorsement has the same baggage: GOPers.

And by that I mean that each and every endorsed candidate is gonna get slimed by the GreedOverPrinciples Smear Merchants. Doesn’t matter who it is; and it really doesn’t matter to the GOP if there’s any truth to the smear or not: GOPers don’t care if the smear is true; they only care that THE VOTERS think the smear is true.

Case in point: Incumbent SOS Mark Ritchie, who is still accused on a regular basis of stealing the election from ol’ Smokescreen. Facts be damned, “Normie wuz ROBBED!” is how the GOP portrays the recount.

So everyone has the same baggage; a GOP perfectly happy to smile at a camera and lie through their teeth.

It’s a strong field running for the DFL and almost all of the candidates for the corner office TBag abandoned long ago is capable of winning (sorry, Ole – you ain’t one o’ the capable).

As I see it, there is one candidate that if on the ticket in November, is a sure winner: Tommy Rukavina. All of the others (except Ole…well, Gaertner, too) can win the election come November, but: if Rukavina is on the ticket, game over; DFL wins.

Now, who will get the endorsement, this weekend?

I’d offer some profound punditry, but: I also predicted ol’ Smokescreen would enter the race on the GreedOverPrinciples side no later than 2nd weekend in February, and I also recently predicted Hackett on the 3rd ballot.

So, in the interests of not putting a Bambino Curse on any candidate, I’ll remain silent as to who gets the endorsement.

On the other hand, feel free to opine below!

(cross posted from MnProgressiveProject; comments welcome there)

The Minnesota GOPers have a longstanding tradition of running a completely FUBAR paperwork operation; for example, here’s the infamous “Tostenson Memo”.

And I wanted to share one FEC Filing from the MN GOP that just warms my heart:

GOPers simply have to wonder where their “donations” to the GOP go. We know at the national level, donations fund stuff like “meals” at bondage clubs. And I’m sure it warms local GOPer’s hearts, too, knowing that their donations went to pay for Senator Franken’s legal fees….

(cross posted from MnProgressiveProject.com; comments welcome there)

Seems his digs were a little bit nicer than Normie’s….

(cross posted from MnProgressiveProject.com; comments welcome there)

St. Paul- Republican Party of Minnesota Chairman-elect Tony Sutton today issued the following statement regarding the Minnesota Supreme Court’s ruling in the U.S. Senate race.

“Today’s ruling wrongly disenfranchised thousands of Minnesotans who deserve to have their votes counted. Alongside Senator Coleman, the Republican Party of Minnesota has fought to make sure every vote counts and all voters are treated fairly and uniformly. As we move forward, our deeply flawed election system must be dramatically improved to ensure our state’s elections are fair, accurate and reliable.” (Republican Party of Minnesota)

In other words, “Norm wuz robbed.”

Classless.

That’s the way the state GOP Party was under former Chairman Ron Carey; that’s the way it will remain under new Chairman Tony Sutton.

(crossposted from MnProgressiveProject)

It’s been a tough day for the GOPers. Fortunately for Kurt Zellers, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford – who turned down Federal Stimulus – got caught gettin’ some international stimulus:

Chris Cillizza
washingtonpost.com Political Blogger
Wednesday, June 24, 2009; 3:30 PM

Gov. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.) admitted in a press conference in Washington today that he had an extramarital affair with a woman in Argentina and that he will resign his position as president of the Republican Governors Assocation. (Washington Post)

Yep – a “Family Values” republiCon, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, wasn’t “hiking the Appalachian Trail” as aides first claimed; he was down in Argentina – “catching up on foreign affairs”.

Which is good for Zellers; that diverts attention away from his history of campaign finance screwups. Well, and the video Dusty Trice found and posted today – the video of Zeller trashing former Governor Arne Carlson just last May. Let’s look!

That’s Kurt Zellers, trashing former two-term Governor Arne Carlson. Way to make the small tent smaller, Kurt!

And speakin’ o’ the Small Tent Party, Lieutenant Colonel Joe Repya split ranks from the likes of Zellers, Sutton, Brodkorb, et al. In today’s Pioneer Press, Colonel Repya explains why:

“Over the years I have raised tens of thousands of dollars for GOP coffers, donated many thousands of dollars to local and national GOP candidates, worked many hours at the grass-roots level and been asked repeatedly to run for state or federal office by Minnesota GOP officeholders. So why on Earth have I decided to leave the Minnesota GOP?

Simple: When a political party becomes so dysfunctional that it no longer can operate without tyrannical domination over the grass-roots, it is time to stop enabling bad behavior from that party. I have come to the conclusion that a majority of Minnesotans and many Republicans no longer trust the message of the Minnesota GOP.

After years of ineffective party leadership resulting in a record number of defeats, lack of transparency in party dealings, alleged financial impropriety by former party employees, and numerous Federal Election Commission problems, can you really blame the electorate for abandoning the Minnesota GOP?”

OK, now I’ll surmise that the “…alleged financial impropriety by former party employees,…” has something to do with this:

Read the “confidential memo” from the Minnesota Republican Party that is the basis of CREW’s FEC complaint

(Submitted by crew on 16 July 2007 – 1:26pm. FEC Minnesota Republican Party)

CREW filed a Federal Election Commission (FEC) complaint today against the Republican Party of Minnesota and its former treasurer, Marina Taubenberger, alleging multiple egregious violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) and FEC regulations. The complaint is based primarily upon a February 15, 2007 confidential memorandum from former Republican Party of Minnesota finance director Dwight Tostenson to the Party’s Executive Committee. You really have to read that memo. Here it is:

OK, so what happened when Colonel Repya tried to ask about the alleged financial impropriety” at the state convention? Let’s watch!!!

Way to go, Tony Sutton, a/k/a “Mr. Lost Credibility”!!! Oh, and in the comments section, of the PiPress? A guy by the name of Nathan Hansen has this to say:

I am Deputy Chair of the Fourth Congressional District and one of the newer anti-war Republican activists. It’s difficult for words to describe how happy I am that you are leaving our Party. The roots of your “neconservative” philosophy lie in Straussian Trotzkyite Communism. “Corporate money” influencing our Party? Nothing compared to the damage your military industrial complex (that Eisenhower warned us about) has wreaked on our Party and our Country.
I hope you will find a happy home among your fellow communists. Your days of endless illegal wars and military industrial complex domination of our party are over.
Obama is ramping up his War in Afghanistan and continues to illegally bomb Pakistan. Perhaps you can join him to satiate your bloodlust. (emphasis added)

ROFLMAO!!! The Deputy Chair of the GOP’s CD-4 not only told Colonel Repya “don’t let the door smack ya on yer arse” — he called Joe a “commie”, too!!!

Ya really gotta admire how those in current GOPer party leadership positions honor the troops, doncha??!?

Ever hear that those who forget the lessons of history are doomed to repeat it? Well, an astute Regular Reader (thanks, Ricardo!) sent me a link demonstrating how today’s GreedOverPrinciples party’s leaders are doing just that, in an e-mail entitled “The Current State of the GOP Party”! Let’s watch!!!

Oh, and think today was bad for the local GOPers? Watch what happens if ol’ Smokescreen gets his walking papers tomorrow!

Stay tuned!!!

(crossposted from MnProgressiveProject)

What Bachmann MotorMouth Overdrive said, BEFORE she said she was gonna break the law, is worth repeating. Here’s the transcript:

(0:25) I come from Minnesota. We’re still in a recount with our Senate race between Senator Norm Coleman and the challenger, Al Franken. Senator Coleman won the race on Election Day but that was challenged repeatedly over and over with what we feel may be fraudulent votes and very concerned about what goes forward.

“fradulent votes”, eh? That’s what you “think”, Michele?

Why, just the other day (June 1st, to be exact) Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Christopher Dietzen said he saw “no evidence or fraud or misconduct.” And Justice Dietzen said that in court.

That same day, in that same court, another Minnesota Supreme Court Justice asked Norm Coleman’s attorney, Joe Friedberg, very pointedly if their were any instances of fraud. Norm Coleman’s attorney – NORM COLEMAN’S ATTORNEY – answered emphatically “absolutely not” and added that there was no fraud of any kind; election, voter or otherwise.

But, hey – today’s GOP playbook is ignore the debunking and repeat, Repeat, and REPEAT the debunked stuff over and Over and OVER, as Bachmann just did: the “fraudulent vote (debunked) theory.”

In the rightwingworld, Norm “Smokescreen” Coleman “wuz robbed.” That’s their story, and they’re stickin’ to it.

(crossposted from MnProgressiveProject)