"I wonder if any one at "family friendly" @Target http://ow.ly/2zgm9 is thinking investing in Emmer's Campaign is still such a wonderful idea" — twoputttommy
The Associated Press is reporting the jury has reached a verdict in one count in the Jack Abramoff related trial of former Abramoff lobbying associate Kevin Ring. Ring “served” as Chief of Staff for former Rep. John Doolittle and as a Senate Judiciary subcommittee aide to Sen. John Ashcroft. Both Doolittle and Ashcroft are GOPers, as in GreedOverPrinciples types.
Here, in a short segment, Bill Moyers explains in general terms what the Abramoff Scandal is all about; and why – IMNSHO – GOP today stands for GreedOverPrinciples. Let’s look!!!
The title of the post, back on February 15th of this year, was: RNC’s Michael Steele: “You have absolutely no reason – none – to trust our words or our actions at this point.”
And that was BEFORE the crazy “birther” stuff, and a whole bunch of other bogus stuff slung by the GOPers nationally. Well, and locally too, by FEC Tony and MudSlingerMike. So, since some things never change, here that post is again – Michael Steele telling the world there is no reason – NONE – to trust what the GOP has to say.
Yep – that’s the RNC’s Michael Steele talking; talking to Glenn Beck. Beck was saying conservatives can’t trust today’s GreedOverPrinciples party; I submit NO ONE can trust today’s GreedOverPrinciples party. Let’s watch, and then – below the fold – I’ll elaborate:
On CNN a while ago, some clown GOP Congressman was claiming that a Congressional Budget Office report concluded (in one variation of the various GOPer soundbites) that very little spending from the stimulus bill would occur in the first two fiscal years.
The only problem with that claim, that this and other various GOPers were making? There was no CBO report. HuffPo’s Ryan Grim fisked that one; I double checked, too.
The GOPer’s leadership simply made it up; the GOPer’s rank (and I mean “rank”) and file dutifully regurgitated it.
The Colorado Independent did a story about Trancredo’s clone replacement, GOPer Mike Coffman, who dutifully spewed that party line.
Locally, I’d be surprised if Kline, Paulsen, or Bachmann didn’t follow suit, but it’s a Sunday and I got stuff to do and I’m not going to take the time to check. So, I’ll go on to the next incident of Republicans You Simply Cannot Trust – and it’s on the same subject, The Stimulus Bill.
And this incident has to do with John Boehner, the Liar-In-Chief for the US House republiCons. I first saw this, over at Mercury Rising, so a hat tip is in order for Phoenix Woman. Here’s what she wrote:
Stupid And Evil, That’s Our Boehner!
Posted by Phoenix Woman on February 15, 2009
If anybody’s thinking of running against John Boehner next year, here’s some lovely oppo for ya!
Boehner recently uttered this slam against passenger rail spending in the stimulus package:
“Tell me how spending $8 billion in this bill to have a high-speed rail line between Los Angeles and Las Vegas is going to help the construction worker in my district.”
And, yes, Boehner actually said that – that there was $8 billion in the Stimulus Bill for a line between LA and Vegas, even though there isn’t. Boehner said it on the floor of the House; Boehner has it on his web page: “Tell me how spending $8 billion in this bill to have a high-speed rail line between Los Angeles and Las Vegas is going to help the construction worker in my district.”
I’m not going to talk about how Boehner is objecting that there’s no pork for his district, if there were a line between LA and Vegas; about how that would be an obvious example of hypocrisy typical in today’s GreedOverPrinciples party: objecting to pork ONLY WHEN THEY DON’T GET ANY – no, not me! I’m simply focusing on how reasonable people reasonably cannot trust republiCons like John Boehner to tell the truth – which is what new RNC Chair Michael Steele acknowledged, and you saw, in that YouTube above the fold. So, who’s next, you might ask?
Well, Minnesota’s own “Let’s Investigate Those Un-American Types In Congress” Michelle Bachmann!
Oh, wait – I just pointed out, just yesterday, how Michelle Bachmann made stuff up about how there’s $5 BILLION for ACORN in the stimulus bill. Well, and how Bachmann made the claim the good ol’ USofA is “running out of rich people”, despite the obvious results of the GreedOverPrinciples’ war on the middle class during these last 3 decades. And actually, there’s more outrageous stuff that Little Miss Hiding In The Weeds said; but again, it’s a Sunday….
So, let’s go back to that Boehner bit, for a second, and look at how a few GOPer Congressman are touting (yes, “touting” – according to McClatchey) the just passed Stimulus Bill:
GOP lawmakers tout projects in the stimulus bill they opposed
By David Lightman
McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON — Rep. John Mica was gushing after the House of Representatives voted Friday to pass the big stimulus plan.
“I applaud President Obama’s recognition that high-speed rail should be part of America’s future,” the Florida Republican beamed in a press release.
Yet Mica had just joined every other GOP House member in voting against the $787.2 billion economic recovery plan.
Republicans echoed their party line over and over during the debate: “This bill is loaded with wasteful deficit spending on the majority’s favorite government programs,” as Minority Whip Eric Cantor, R-Va., put it.
But Mica wasn’t alone in touting what he saw as the bill’s virtues. Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, also had nice things to say in a press release.
Young boasted that he “won a victory for the Alaska Native contracting program and other Alaska small business owners last night in H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.”
One provision would have made it harder for minority businesses to win contracts, and Young explained that he “worked with members on the other side of the aisle to make the case for these programs, and was able to get the provision pulled from the bill.”
Yet later in the day Young — who recently told McClatchy that he would’ve included earmarks, or local projects, in the bill if it had been permitted — issued another statement blasting the overall measure.
“This bill was not a stimulus bill. It was a vehicle for pet projects, and that’s wrong,” he protested.
That was more in line with the Republican message.
Young wouldn’t return a request for comment on the apparent contradiction of his press releases.
(more, here:Miami Herald)
Ladies and Gentlemen, these examples of republiCons making stuff up and dutifully repeating the made-up stuff are the obvious ones; they stick out without really looking.
But what is amazing, is the new RNC Chair, Michael Steele, saying about his party what reasonable people already knew:
“You have absolutely no reason – none – to trust our words or our actions at this point.”
It’s about time the GOP quit making stuff up, and I – for one – am glad the RNC Chair finally acknowledged that.
That’s “IP” as in “Internet Protocol” – and here’s why it’s important: on June 4th, at 6:32 pm, the following message was posted on GOP State Deputy Chair Michael Brodkorb’s personal blog:
J Says:
June 4th, 2009 at 6:32 pm
Aside from her tax issue which will be huge, Brod will have to answer for her personal behavior if she runs. She’s – ahem – played the field. A lot.(MinnesotaDemocratsExposed)
At the time, I didn’t think a lot of it; it seems to be there’s some exceedingly vile stuff posted over at GOP State Deputy Chair Michael Brodkorb’s personal blog. However, blogger Brian Falldin of Change We Must Fight For began noticing a pattern; a pattern on right-wing blogs of posts smearing Laura Brod.
Right-wing blogger Andy Aplikowski tried to take the high road and wrote about this smear campaign in a post that was almost immediately deleted. Among other things, Andy alleges “…a Republican staffer in the capital…” is involved in this smear campaign. Andy explained why he deleted that post here; it’s important to note that Andy did NOT retract his allegations. In a nutshell, Andy found that exposing problems in the GreedOverPrinciples party isn’t a lot of fun, if you’re a rightwinger.
Brian Falldin sent some questions to GOP Gubenatorial Candidate Marty Seifert, who was identified by name in Andy’s deleted post. The Q ‘n A is here.
Here’s what I found interesting, in Marty Seifert’s response:
I would ask anyone in question that allegedly has done this to open up to a lie detector test, open up cell and computer records and come clean.
Well, that should be a real easy one for GOP State Deputy Chair Michael Brodkorb. All he has to do is go back to June 4th, 2009 at 6:32 pm in his personal blog’s records, and find out who “J” is – by using the IP Address “J” used to post.
… a must-read. And that guy State GOP Deputy Chair Michael Brodkorb thinks is a must-read, recently called Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Joe Repya a communist. A communist!!!
In a way, it’s quite of reminiscent of an elected GOPer – Michele Bachmann – questioning the patriotism of duly elected US Senators and Congressmen.
And it’s part of a pattern; today’s GOP has a habit of trashing those they disagree with. Especially Colonel Repya; last year republiCon Ron essentially called Colonel Repya an enemy of the party for having the audacity – AUDACITY! – to suggest the party might have a few paperwork problems.
Since it’s been established that the established GOP Party Leadership doesn’t much like The Good Colonel, and it’s been established the State GOP Deputy Chair thinks the CD-04 Deputy Chair is a must-read, and since it’s well-established the CD-04 Deputy Chair thinks The Good Colonel is a commie, doesn’t that beg the question: does State GOP Deputy Chair Michael Brodkorb think that that Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Joe Repya is a commie, too??!?
Well I thought so, so I asked! Here’s exactly what I asked, in an e-mailed entitled “A Question For Deputy Chair Brodkorb:
Dear Deputy Chair (Elect) Brodkorb,
I’m looking into CD-4 Deputy Chair Nathan Hansen’s recent comments in the St. Paul Pioneer Press, and I have a question for State Deputy Chair (Elect) Brodkorb:
Mr. Deputy Chair (Elect) Brodkorb, do you agree with CD-4 Deputy Chair Hansen’s assertion that LTC (Retired) Joe Repya is a communist?
A “Yes” or “No” answer will suffice; an explanation would be appreciated.
Thank you for your prompt reply.
Tommy Johnson
Blogger
State GOP Deputy Chair Michael Brodkorb declined to respond for the record.
With elected office holders like Michele Bachmann and Laura Brod, and elected party officers like Nathan Hansen, State GOP Deputy Chair Michal Brodkorb likely will be ducking a lot of questions.
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!
Well, it seems that John Kline is outraged – OUTRAGED! – that a candidate is taking footage of Marines in uniform, and using said Marines in an ad. And he’s outraged. Here’s what Blogger Michael Broadkorb is reporting Congressman Kline said, over on M.D.E.:
I am outraged that Ashwin Madia would exploit uniformed Marines to advance his political ambitions. … He should immediately pull down the ad and issue an apology to the drill team and the brave men and women of the U.S. Marine Corps.” (M.D.E.)
Well, one would think, by Congressman Kline’s outrage, that he, himself, would never have used the military, or military veterans, to further HIS “political ambitions”, wouldn’t one? Or, if he HAD used the military, or military veterans, to further HIS “political ambitions”, Congressman Kline would have apologized, right?
Yeah, “right.”
Let’s take a look at a John Kline incident, from just two years ago.
On August 12th, 2006, John Kline attended an event with the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA), in St. Paul. Randy Pleva, National President of the PVA, sent Congressman Kline a letter on August 28th, thanking Kline for showing up.
Now, it’s important to remember, that the PVA is a 501(c)3 not for profit.
So, what did Congressman Kline do, with that letter, from a not for profit Veterans Organization?
If you guessed Congressman Kline shamelessly used that letter to further Kline’s political career, you would be correct.
Here’s the entire verbage from the SECOND letter the PVA sent to Congressman Kline, dated 31 October 2006:
Dear Congressman Kline,
I write to you regarding a recent campaign flyer distributed by the Kline for Congress campaign (copy attached) that implies my endorsement, as President of Paralyzed Veterans of America, of your reelection. As a 501(c)3 not for profit organization we are precluded by law from endorsing or opposing any candidate for office. Not only was this language taken out of context and used without our knowledge, the fact is that this may put or organization’s good standing in jeopardy.
The language contained in the flyer comes from a letter (attached I sent you August 28, 2006 thanking you for your attendance at a fund raising event conducted by PVA’s Outdoor Recreation Heritage Fund. I find the selective editing for use in the flyer disingenuous at best.
I would appreciate that you and the campaign cease using this implied endorsement.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Randy L. Pleva, Sr.
National President
cc: Federal Election Commission, Office of General Counsel
Here’s the first letter, that John Kline disingenously took out of context:
Here’s the second letter, that the PVA essentially said “cease and desist”:
Now, fastforward to yesterday, and remember Kline demanding someone else issue an apology. Ask yourself this: do you think John Kline ever apologized to the PVA, for shamelessly and disengenuously using Paralyzed American Veterans to shamelessly advance Kline’s career?
If you think Kline did NOT apologize, you would be correct; I know – because I called Randy Pleva, National President, and asked.
John Kline – as usual – is acting like the shameless and disengenuous hypocrite that has caused “GOP” to now stand for GreedOverPrinciples.
Whose IP Is It?
That’s “IP” as in “Internet Protocol” – and here’s why it’s important: on June 4th, at 6:32 pm, the following message was posted on GOP State Deputy Chair Michael Brodkorb’s personal blog:
At the time, I didn’t think a lot of it; it seems to be there’s some exceedingly vile stuff posted over at GOP State Deputy Chair Michael Brodkorb’s personal blog. However, blogger Brian Falldin of Change We Must Fight For began noticing a pattern; a pattern on right-wing blogs of posts smearing Laura Brod.
Right-wing blogger Andy Aplikowski tried to take the high road and wrote about this smear campaign in a post that was almost immediately deleted. Among other things, Andy alleges “…a Republican staffer in the capital…” is involved in this smear campaign. Andy explained why he deleted that post here; it’s important to note that Andy did NOT retract his allegations. In a nutshell, Andy found that exposing problems in the GreedOverPrinciples party isn’t a lot of fun, if you’re a rightwinger.
Brian Falldin sent some questions to GOP Gubenatorial Candidate Marty Seifert, who was identified by name in Andy’s deleted post. The Q ‘n A is here.
Here’s what I found interesting, in Marty Seifert’s response:
Well, that should be a real easy one for GOP State Deputy Chair Michael Brodkorb. All he has to do is go back to June 4th, 2009 at 6:32 pm in his personal blog’s records, and find out who “J” is – by using the IP Address “J” used to post.
Stay tuned!
(crossposted from MnProgressiveProject)