WHAT ROMNEY / REPUBLICANS STAND FOR———————————————

Creepy young Mitt Romney: did young Mitt Romney like to impersonate a police officer? Another witness says yes — When Mitt Romney was a college freshman, he told fellow residents of his Stanford University dormitory that he sometimes disguised himself as a police officer – a crime in many states… And he had the uniform on display as proof. [...] Said Madden in a recent interview, “He told us that he had gotten the uniform from his father,” George Romney, then the Governor of Michigan, whose security detail was staffed by uniformed troopers. “He told us that he was using it to pull over drivers on the road. He also had a red flashing light that he would attach to the top of his white Rambler.” In Madden’s recollection, confirmed by his wife Susan, who also attended Stanford during those years, “we thought it was all pretty weird. We all thought, ‘Wow, that’s pretty creepy.’ And after that, we didn’t have much interaction with him.” – National Memo

image: randomactsofchaos

The self-hating union members in Wisconsin – Romney said: “The union members, they’ll support us. Without the union members who support our campaign and support conservative principles, we wouldn’t have Scott Walker win in Wisconsin if that weren’t the case.” Exit polls showed that, while Barrett won a huge victory among union members, Walker nearly tied him among people who live with union members. – Washington Post

Maddow doubts whether Democrats can survive flood of dark money – “In just about every election, if you are outspent eight-to-one, then you are going to lose,” Maddow said. “There is occasionally going to be a Hail Mary, miracle underdog, but over time, structurally speaking, remove the personality and just think about this in political science terms, if you are outspent that kind of way — the way that Republicans can outspend Democrats with unlimited corporate money — the Democrats are going to lose.” Democrats have called for the Citizens United ruling to be overturned with a constitutional amendment, but the proposal is almost unanimously opposed by Republicans. Maddow described the amendment as a “very, very long term goal.” “Do Democrats have a realistic way to survive in elections to even try to get to the medium term, let alone that long term, if Republicans are systematically defunding the Democratic Party in a way that renders Democrats incapable of competing?” – Raw Story

John McCain’s Reindeer Games: what does defense spending have to do with farm / nutrition issues? Nothing, of course — The McCain amendment [to the FARM bill]… would require Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to file a detailed report by Aug. 15 on the security effects of the nearly $500 billion defense sequester. [...] Though the push to reverse the defense part of the sequester is especially popular among Republicans, the move to attach the McCain measure to a delicately negotiated, $969 billion bipartisan farm bill could be just the first of many to threaten final passage. [...] Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said earlier this week he is willing to have an open amendment process on the bill as long as amendments fall within the purview of the legislation. The big question now is whether Republicans will demand amendment votes on proposals such as McCain’s, which are not directly relevant to farm or nutrition issues. – Roll Call News

• J.M. Ashby sez, do it! I encourage congress to pass this amendment. Why? Because It will not serve the GOP’s interest. In fact, it may shut them up. [...] The $500 billion sequester will be drawn out over a period of 10 years. It’s not going to come all at once. Military spending is still going to increase over the next 10 years, but it will increase by $500 billion less than it otherwise would have over that time period. Furthermore, the Joint Chiefs of Staff have already expressed confidence in their budget which accounts for the sequester. The same budget Paul Ryan accused them of lying about when they expressed their satisfaction.

Florida Governor Rick Scott Officially Defies Justice Department, Vows To Continue Voter Purge – In a letter sent [last] night, Florida Governor Rick Scott said the state will continue to purge registered voters from the rolls despite the Department of Justice’s warning that the effort is illegal. The Miami Herald reports, “the letter all but dares the Justice Department to sue Florida for allegedly violating the 1965 Voting Rights Act and the 1993 National Voter Registration Act.” – Think Progress

WHAT THE PRESIDENT / DEMOCRATS STAND FOR ————————————

Obama: Bush Tax Cuts For Wealthy Will Not Be Extended, Period – The White House is insisting President Barack Obama will not extend the Bush-era tax cuts for wealthier Americans – even temporarily. Obama spokesman Jay Carney said the president has been clear in his opposition to extending tax cuts for households with annual incomes above $250,000. Tax cuts for people of all incomes are due to expire at year’s end. — HuffPo

Serious legislating is ‘all but done’ in 2012 – “[M]y message to Congress is, get to work,” [President Obama] said over the weekend. “Right now, Congress should pass a bill to help states prevent more layoffs, so we can put thousands of teachers and firefighters and police officers back on the job. Congress should have passed a bill a long time ago to put thousands of construction workers back on the job rebuilding our roads and our bridges and our runways.” There was no realistic chance Congress would heed the president’s call. Not only have GOP lawmakers rejected all credible efforts to boost the economy, but at this point, Capitol Hill doesn’t really intend to do much of anything before the election. [...] [O]n Tuesday, [House Majority Leader Eric Cantor] all but predicted 2012 substantively over… The rest of the year, Cantor said, will likely be about sending “signal[s] that we’ve actually gotten with the reality here, that we have huge problems to deal with.” So, after a year and a half of getting practically nothing done, we can now expect to see Congress engaged in “signal” sending, not policymaking, for the next five months. – Maddow Blog

Obama For America TV Ad: “Jobs” – The President’s jobs plan would put teachers, firefighters, police officers, and construction workers back to work right now. And it’s paid for by asking the wealthiest Americans to pay a little more, but Congress refuses to act. Tell Congress we can’t wait: http://www.barackobama.com/JobsNow

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House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi calls on Republicans to cancel next week’s recess (which will be the NINTH RECESS OF THE YEAR) — “Instead of recessing yet again, the House should remain at work and pass critical legislation that will create jobs for the middle class that will actually be signed into law. Republicans must not run out the clock on the economy,” the California Democrat said in a letter to Speaker John Boehner. “As House Republicans prepare for yet another week of recess, hundreds of thousands of construction workers, businesses large and small, and others in the transportation industry, and millions of college students and their families are facing imminent hardship,” Pelosi said, adding that “statements from the House Republican leadership have raised alarm among middle-class families and American businesses concerning your commitment to acting on the middle-income tax cuts and the debt limit.” – Roll Call News

From yesterday’s press gaggle with White House press secretary Jay Carney on Air Force One:

Q: Can I ask you about the California fundraisers, in particular? The President is getting a lot of heat over cavorting with showbiz types. Rush Limbaugh is referring to him as Barack Kardashian, can you believe. What is your response to that? (Laughter.)

CARNEY: Two words — Donald Trump. Next question.

Laugh OL!