Tag Archives: marriage equality

The GOP: Party of Self

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JM Ashby: Representative Paul Broun (R-GA) doesn’t support gay marriage because he’s “not going to marry one,” but did you also know he doesn’t support ending discrimination against transgender persons because he ‘doesn’t want a sex change?’ ”I don’t want to pay for a sex change operation. I’m not interested. I like being a boy.”

In other news, Broun doesn’t support tampons because he doesn’t menstruate. He doesn’t support wheelchairs because he can walk just fine, thank you very much. Basically, if it’s not Broun, Broun doesn’t support it: “I like being me and I’m not interested in things that aren’t me.” 

Broun is the basic definition of the Republican Party.

“I didn’t know you had families.” — Mitt Romney to LGBT constituents in Massachusetts

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Unsurprisingly the Mormon Bishop Mitt Romney, who has been described as generous, helpful and kind by his past congregation, is a completely different person from the Mitt Romney dealing with non-Mormons and people he has no use for in the political and/or business realm. From Think Progress:

David Wilson and Julie Goodridge, two of the plaintiffs whose case led to the legalization of marriage equality in Massachusetts, described meeting with Romney to discuss their experiences. According to Wilson, “it was like talking to a robot. No expression, no feeling.” At one point, Romney remarked, “I didn’t know you had families.” Goodridge recalls her final exchange with the governor, which proved to her that he had “no capacity for empathy”:

GOODRIDGE: Governor Romney, tell me — what would you suggest I say to my 8 year-old daughter about why her mommy and her ma can’t get married because you, the governor of her state, are going to block our marriage?

ROMNEY: I don’t really care what you tell your adopted daughter. Why don’t you just tell her the same thing you’ve been telling her the last eight years.

Romney described the meeting to the press as “pleasant,” as Goodridge cried.

Because if you really are a human being, there are far different ways to disagree with someone or tell them “no,” than insulting their very existence and humanity. But to Romney, some people are more equal than others.

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Mormon Christus commands you to insult people who are different!

Richard Cummins/Corbis - A sculpture in the visitors’ center at Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Stockholm Syndrome victims for Romney!

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Reference

Ann Romney hears women’s voices and listens very, very selectively

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In an interview with KWQC-TV6 on Sep. 7, Ann Romney refused to comment on issues stemming from the ongoing War on Women. Romney tells the anchor that issues like same-sex marriage and contraception provided through an employer’s health insurance plan are irrelevant topics to women in this election.

Anchor David Nelson:  “What is your message to voters?”

Ann Romney:  “My message, really was, ‘women, I hear your voices,’ and the interesting thing about this economy, this tough economy that we’re going through, is that women have been hit the hardest.  And I wanted to make sure that women of America knew that we have been across this country for the last year and a half and we are very aware of how tough it is for them.

They are juggling so many things, and I think all of us know that women work harder than anyone and that they hold down jobs, they are raising the kids, they’re trying to get food on the table and everything else and they’re really being stretched and my message was really for women and it’s saying ‘trust my husband, he does not fail he will not fail’ and he is going to work harder than anyone to make sure that your economic prosperity and your future will be more sound with him.”

Anchor David Nelson:  “Here in Iowa, as you know, same-sex marriage is legal.  Do you believe a lesbian mother should be allowed to marry her partner?”

Ann Romney:  “You know, I’m not going to talk about the specific issues.  I’m going to let my husband speak on issues.  I’m here to really just talk about my husband and what kind of husband and father he is and, you know, those are hot-button issues that distract from what the real voting issue is going to be at this election.  That, it’s going to be about the economy and jobs.

And, frankly, the President said four years ago that if he doesn’t turn this economy around he’s going to be looking at a one-term presidency.  And I frankly believe that Mitt is the person that is so going to be focused on jobs and job creation and making sure that women’s economic prosperity is more certain and by the way their children’s future is because as we all know we’re facing this debt crisis.  Sometime, somewhere, somehow someone’s going to have to pay off these debts, and it’s going to be our children.  And we have to, it’s getting to be a desperate situation.  We will be looking at a Greece-like situation or a Spain situation if we don’t address these issues very quickly.”

Anchor David Nelson: “Do you believe that employer-provided health insurance should be required to cover birth control?”

Ann Romney:  ”Again, you’re asking me questions that are not about what this election is going to be about.  This election is going to be about the economy and jobs.“

Anchor David Nelson:  “Well, a Pew Research poll shows those issues are very important to women, ranking them either “important” or “very important.”

Ann Romney:  “You know, but I personally believe, and this is what I’m hearing from women all across the country that they are going to look for the guy that’s going to pull them out of the weeds and get them job security and a brighter future for their children.  That’s the message.

Listen, I’ve been across this country, I’ve been for a year-and-a-half on the campaign trail.  I’ve spoken with thousands of women and they are telling me, they’re telling me a couple of things, one they say they’re praying for me which is really wonderful, and then they’re saying, ‘please help, please help.  We are so worried about our jobs.’ So really if you want to try to pull me off of the other messages it’s not going to work because I know because I’ve been out there.“

Anchor David Nelson:  “Well, I don’t want to pull you off any message.  You just told a reporter who was questioning you in Cleveland that you want women to have a secure and stable future.  I asked you about marriage and whether lesbian mothers should be allowed to marry.  Isn’t marriage a part of creating a stable future?

Ann Romney:  “You know, again, I’m going to talk to you about the economy and about job creation and about how my husband is the right person for the right time.  This is going to be an election that is very important for women, and we are going to make sure that their economic prosperity is more certain under a President Romney.”

(Via: Think Progress) Watch a four-minute video of the interview.

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All these women supposedly telling Ann they’re worried about their jobs… it almost sounds like she’s been threatening to lay off her housekeepers, doesn’t it?

If only Mitt and Ann had listened to women (and men) who were worried about losing their jobs back when Bain Capital was in its heyday: bankrupting companies, laying off the workforce, offshoring their jobs to China and India. Oh, well! Better to pretend to listen now than never.

You’re anti-gay marriage? Yes, you look like a complete idiot to most people.

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image: christopherstreet

fonik: Anderson’s expression here is perfect.


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North Carolina pastor: Send LGBT people to concentration camps to die — Pastor Charles Worley of the Providence Road Baptist Church in North Carolina recently told his congregation that LGBT individuals should be rounded up and detained in camps until they’re all dead. […] “…Build a great, big, large fence — 150 or 100 mile long — put all the lesbians in there. Fly over and drop some food. Do the same thing for the queers and the homosexuals, and have that fence electrified so they can’t get out, feed em, and you know what, in a few years, they’ll die out…” — Raw Story

Morning Bunker Report: Monday 5.21.2012

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WHAT THE REPUBLICAN PARTY STANDS FOR TODAY—————————–—

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s budget would add $10.7 trillion to the debt and reduce federal revenues to just 15 percent of GDP, exploding the “prairie fire of debt” Romney warned the nation about in a speech last week in Iowa. …House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI), in an appearance on Fox News this morning, made the laughable claim that a budget that explodes the debt will simultaneously prevent a debt crisis: RYAN: More to the point, though, the kind of budget Mitt Romney is talking about is one that prevents a debt crisis. — ThinkProgress

Jim Cramer: Romney is ‘a job destroyer, not a creator’ — Appearing on Meet The Press in the roundtable segment, the Mad Money host differed with David Gregory’s** perspective that Romney had a “real area of strength” over President Barack Obama on the economy. Gregory based his view on a recent ad from the Romney campaign that mentioned how the former Massachusetts governor would approve of the controversial Keystone pipeline if he was president. “Romney is known as a job destroyer, not a creator,” Cramer said. “I just don’t think that this will stick, I think Bain sticks. I think the idea that you bring in Bain, which is what happened, in the 80′s. They fire people and that’s how they get prosperity for the rich.” – Raw Story || ** NOTE on David Gregory’s ‘perspective’: This month, Gregory headlined as a keynote speaker for a major Republican advocacy group. Your liberal media.

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Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) claims his budget ‘pre-empts austerity’ –  Paul says that his plan to slash government spending on programs for the poor while increasing defense spending and giving tax cuts to the wealthy would actually “prevent austerity.” […] “What we’re saying is let’s get on growth and prevent austerity,” he continued. “The whole premise of our budget is to preempt austerity by getting our borrowing under control, having tax reform for economic growth and preventing Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid from going bankrupt. That preempts austerity.” […] The budget plan Ryan unveiled earlier this year aimed to cut spending by privatizing parts of Medicare, slashing Medicaid programs for the poor by $810 billion, spending 38 percent less on transportation and 33 percent less on education than the Obama administration has proposed. — Raw Story

RNC chair blames Obama for Rev. Wright attack ad story  – [RNC Chairman Reince Priebus] on Sunday said it was the fault of President Barack Obama and the Democrats for reports that a super PAC supporting presumptive presidential nominee Mitt Romney was considering attack ads featuring Obama’s former pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright. “I know how it works,” Priebus insisted to CNN’s Candy Crowley. “It’s the Democrats and Barack Obama that want the story out there… — Raw Story

WTF, Cory Booker? Newark Mayor Cory Booker Defends Bain Capital, Attacks Obama Campaign – On Meet the Press, Booker called criticizing Romney’s time at Bain “ridiculous” and “nauseating.” [...] By [Sunday] afternoon, Booker had started to walk back his criticisms of Obama and his campaign. – ThinkProgress

GOP House = 218 frogs in a wheelbarrow: “I’ve never been shy about leading. But you know, leaders need followers. And we’ve got 89 brand new members. We’ve got a pretty disparate caucus. It is hard to keep 218 frogs in a wheelbarrow long enough to get a bill passed.” – – House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), in an interview on This Week. – Political Wire

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

Private Jobs Increase More With Democrats in White House — The BGOV Barometer shows that since Democrat John F. Kennedy took office in January 1961, non-government payrolls in the U.S. swelled by almost 42 million jobs under Democrats, compared with 24 million for Republican presidents, according to Labor Department figures. Democrats hold the edge though they occupied the Oval Office for 23 years since Kennedy’s inauguration, compared with 28 for the Republicans. Through April 2012, Democratic presidents accounted for an average of 150,000 additional private-sector paychecks per month over that period, more than double the 71,000 average for Republicans.  –  Bloomberg

RESHORING: Factories begin to shift back to US — Two-thirds of big US manufacturers have moved factories in the past two years, with the most popular destination being the US, according to a survey being released on Monday by Accenture, the consultants. The report provides some of the first industry-wide empirical evidence of “reshoring,” the trend of jobs once outsourced to low-cost emerging economies being brought back to the US. President Barack Obama has proposed tax incentives for companies that move their overseas operations back to the US and tax penalties for those that do not. “If you’re a business that wants to outsource jobs, you shouldn’t get a tax deduction for doing it,” Mr Obama said in this year’s State of the Union address. “No American company should be able to avoid paying its fair share of taxes by moving jobs and profits overseas.” Some 65 per cent of the senior executives questioned by Accenture said they had moved their manufacturing operations in the past 24 months, with two-fifths saying the facilities had been relocated to the US. China was the second destination for relocated factories, with 28 per cent, followed by Mexico with 21 per cent. […] The survey also reveals that US manufacturers expect China to overtake Europe as their second biggest market within three years. – FT.com || (original link is subscription only)

Pelosi described Boehner’s approach to coming debt-ceiling negotiations as immature and irresponsible. “Last year, just the threat of not lifting the debt ceiling caused our credit rating to be lowered. This is not a responsible, mature, sensible place for us to go. We all know we have to reduce the deficit. We have to do it in a balanced way,” she said on ABC’s “This Week.” “The speaker wants to go over the edge. […] “If the speaker was serious about moving forward, Pelosi said, he should bring the middle-class tax cuts to the floor now so that they are not held hostage during negotiations after the election. “I challenge the speaker right now to bring the middle income tax cuts to the floor,” she said. Pelosi praised the defense cuts that are scheduled to take effect in 2013 as a result of the previous debt ceiling deal. — HuffPo

NAACP follows Obama’s lead on marriage equality – Over the weekend, the board of the NAACP, in a near-unanimous vote, followed Obama’s lead and endorsed same-sex marriage. — Maddow Blog

Obama’s Super PAC is trailing Romney’s Super PAC (not to mention all the other GOP ones) in fundraising. — Politico

Morning Bunker Report: Tuesday 5.15.2012

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WHAT THE REPUBLICAN PARTY STANDS FOR TODAY—————————–—

Ralph Reed Concern Trolls Over Political ‘Dumpster Diving’ – During his Roundtable appearance on This Week, discussion turned to whether Mitt Romney’s pattern of bullying others and entitled attitude is relevant to the election at hand. [...] Reed actually had the nerve to ask who would want to serve “if they know people will be dumpster diving into your high school or prep school?” Wow, really? Because nothing says dumpster diving like half the Republican Party claiming Barack Obama wasn’t born in the United States, that he is really a Kenyan usurper, and the other half claiming that he’s Muslim but somehow influenced by an inflammatory Christian pastor in the church he attended for 20 years, and other assorted untrue stories they flog every damn day. Nothing says dumpster diving like pointing at his time in Indonesia as a time where he was indoctrinated by imams, or the nonsense they spewed just this week about how he dealt drugs in college. So here is Ralph Reed, calling a story corroborated by five independent witnesses and Romney himself “dumpster diving” while he and his band of religious thugs are largely responsible for the lies, rumors, and smears they laid upon Barack Obama for the last six years or so. Who would want to serve, indeed? – Hypocrites for Jebus

Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget and his kinder, gentler approach to ending Medicare as we know it is no more popular in 2012 than it was in 2011. Which is a problem for House Republicans who voted for it and are now running for reelection. Consider Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle (R-NY-25) and the convolutions she had in explaining the Medicare vote she took at a town meeting. [...] Her defenses, in order: 1) it’s not law! We all voted for it but that doesn’t mean we actually want it to be law; 2) we’re not going to take Medicare away from you, just your children and grandchildren; and 3) the Senate will never pass it anyway, so this really isn’t a real issue to be scared of, and you shouldn’t blame me for voting to end Medicare as we know it because, even though I voted for it, it’s not going to happen and isn’t that a relief. Oh, and yeah, look over there! Obamacare! Scary! Compelling stuff. Nonetheless, it’s what the Republicans have chosen, again, to run on for 2012. So it would be a really good time for Democrats to make a campaign pledge of no benefit cuts to Medicare, or Social Security. – Daily Kos

In a column for the white nationalist site VDARE.com, John Derbyshire (who was fired from National Review recently) offers unqualified praise for white supremacy: [...] Leaving aside the intended malice, I actually think “White Supremacist” is not bad semantically. White supremacy, in the sense of a society in which key decisions are made by white Europeans, is one of the better arrangements History has come up with. There have of course been some blots on the record, but I don’t see how it can be denied that net-net, white Europeans have made a better job of running fair and stable societies than has any other group. As a reminder, this man who now openly praises a racial caste system wrote for one of the nation’s top conservative publications for nearly 12 years. – Think Progress | (Note: he’s right about one thing: a society run by white Europeans IS one of the better arrangements for white Europeans – just not anyone else.) 

UNTIL 2016: Ron Paul effectively suspends presidential campaign – Supporters will focus on picking off delegates already won by other candidates. Paul has yet to make clear what he plans to do with his delegates at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, and activists planning on attending have expressed differing views and sometimes confusion as to what their goals will be heading into the event. – TPM

SHHHH! Conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh was inducted into the Hall of Famous Missourians on Monday during a secretive, closed-door ceremony in the state Capitol as police stood guard to keep out any uninvited political opponents of the sometimes divisive radio show host. – The Washington Post

PRESIDENT OBAMA / DEMOCRATS————————————————————

RECALL ELECTION JUNE 5: The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has not invested heavily into the recall elections against Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker (R), according to an anonymous Wisconsin Democratic party official. [...] “We are frustrated by the lack of support from the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Governors Association,” the official said. “Scott Walker has the full support and backing of the Republican Party and all its tentacles. We are not getting similar support.” – Raw Story | Contact the DNC

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Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren (D) is calling for JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon to resign from his position at the New York Federal Reserve Bank to acknowledge that he was in a position of trust after his company revealed that it had recently lost $2 billion as a result of bad bets on derivatives. “I’d like to see some real accountability here,” Warren told CBS host Charlie Rose on Monday. “I’d like to see Jamie Dimon, for example, resign from his position as a Class A director of the New York Federal Reserve Bank.” – Raw Story

Romney donor pulls support, backs Obama, over same-sex marriage – “I feel that I no longer wish to support your presidential campaign and ask that you please return the maximum contribution that I gave to you last year,” Bill White wrote in a letter addressed to the former Massachusetts governor and obtained by CNN. “You have chosen to be on the wrong side of history and I do not support your run for president any longer,” White added. [...] White is the chairman and CEO of the New York-based consulting firm Constellations Group. He was previously the president of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum – the cultural and educational institution whose major presence is the floating World War II Intrepid aircraft carrier sitting on the Hudson River. White told CNN he has advocated on behalf of injured and fallen veterans for 20 years – being awarded the Meritorious Public Service Award from the Coast Guard and from the Navy. – CNN

IRONICALLY, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) says Obama is trying to ‘divide the country’ with marriage equality – Cornyn says that President Barack Obama only announced support for same sex marriage because “he can’t run on his record.” “He’s trying to raise divisive issues up to solidify his base and to divide the country,” Cornyn told CNN’s Candy Crowley on Sunday. – Raw Story

“I’ve always thought it as something that was still holding the country back. What people do in their own homes is their business and you can choose to love whoever you love. That’s their business. It’s no different than discriminating against blacks. It’s discrimination plain and simple. I think it’s the right thing to do, so whether it costs him votes or not – again, it’s not about votes. It’s about people. It’s the right thing to do as a human being.” – Jay-Z, speaking on CNN.


image: MMFA

We’re all Mormons now: politicizing marriage and calling it ‘deeply held religious beliefs’

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via: Where are MY magic underpants?

The completely political lens of ‘deeply held religious beliefs’ on marriage:

Social Conservatives “Never Viewed” Marriage “Through A Political Lens Before”?

Al Cardenas, president of the American Conservative Union, made this unusual statement about how social conservatives view marriage: 

Social conservatives believe that marriage is a traditional event between a man and a woman. Some do it for moral issues, some do it because of deeply held religious beliefs, and some purely because they think a family should constitute — should be constituted by a man and a woman raising their children. But we never viewed it through a political lens before. It was more viewed as a deeply held religious belief. This puts it in a political context. [...]

Seriously?… That’s… revisionist. Neither Gregory nor the other panelists challenged Cardenas, though their facial expressions during his remarks may have betrayed some incredulity. [...] Back in February, Mitt Romney gave his speech to the 2012 Conservative Political Action Conference — which is hosted every year by Cardenas’ ACU — and one of the headline-grabbing moments from that speech was when Romney boasted of his efforts to combat same-sex marriage in Massachusetts:

[...] On my watch we fought hard and prevented Massachusetts from becoming the Las Vegas of gay marriage. When I am president I will defend the Defense of Marriage Act, and and I will fight for an amendment to our Constitution that defines marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman.

The crowd, of course, loved it. Perhaps the political activists in the audience just didn’t realize that the politician speaking to them was politicizing marriage. 

Religious ‘belief’ is the excuse for the war on marriage equality, which is fought on the political battleground:

That GOP Gay Marriage Memo

You may already have seen the following memo on the gay marriage issue from President Bush’s 2004 pollster Jan van Lohuizen… It’s a fascinating document — not so much for the argument it makes (that Republican should essentially embrace marriage or call off the war against it) as the data it advances. Because the numbers it shows pretty convincingly make the argument that the war over gay marriage is basically over.

[...] Recommendation: A statement reflecting recent developments on this issue along the following lines:

“People who believe in equality under the law as a fundamental principle, as I do, will agree that this principle extends to gay and lesbian couples; gay and lesbian couples should not face discrimination and their relationship should be protected under the law. People who disagree on the fundamental nature of marriage can agree, at the same time, that gays and lesbians should receive essential rights and protections such as hospital visitation, adoption rights, and health and death benefits.”

Straight political calculation, based on public opinion, for the best electoral outcomes.

Meanwhile, fundagelicals, your ‘deeply held religious beliefs’? Keep ‘em. They’ve got nothing to do with equality under the LAW.  Establishment Republicans agree (secretly, for now) with average people on that much.

Morning Bunker Report: Monday 5.14.2012

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WHAT THE REPUBLICAN PARTY STANDS FOR TODAY—————————–—

MAN OF GOD: It seems that some people would rather not extend the statute of limitations for the crime of sexually abusing children. What kind of monster — no, wait… Cardinal Timothy Dolan has made defeating statute of limitations reform one of his top legislative priorities. This is the guy, remember, who made such a loud fuss about contraception that the president had to cut a compromise deal that caused Dolan and the rest of the clerical errors to make an even louder fuss. And who, most recently, opened his well-stuffed piehole on the subject of the president’s support for marriage equality: “We cannot be silent in the face of words or actions that would undermine the institution of marriage, the very cornerstone of our society. The people of this country, especially our children, deserve better.” — Charles P. Pierce

Mitt Romney’s mantra: Avoid John McCain’s mistakes (PALIN!) – Many of the current strategy discussions are centered on not falling into the traps McCain did: looking wobbly as a leader and weak on the economy in the final weeks of the campaign. The private discussions include ruling out any vice presidential possibilities who could be seen as even remotely risky or unprepared; wrapping the entire campaign around economic issues, knowing this topic alone will swing undecided voters in the final days; and, slowly but steadily, building up Romney as a safe and competent alternative to President Barack Obama. McCain, according to Romney advisers, blew it on all three scores. And of the three, the most conscious effort by Romney’s team to do things differently will be in the V.P. selection process. One Republican official familiar with the campaign’s thinking said it will be designed to produce a pick who is safe and, by design, unexciting – a deliberate anti-Palin. The prized pick, said this official: an “incredibly boring white guy.” – POLITICO

Dimon On Whether JP Morgan’s $2 Billion Loss Proves Banks Are Still Too Risky: ‘I Don’t Think So’ – [JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie] Dimon has been one of the biggest critics of the Volcker Rule, which is meant to prevent banks from making massive bets with federally insured dollars. [...] Of course, the point isn’t whether JP Morgan, the biggest bank in the U.S., can survive a trade like this. It’s whether the financial system can sustain this sort of trading by all of the big banks, many of which are not in the same financial shape as JP Morgan. As the New York Times detailed yesterday, JP Morgan and the rest of the nation’s biggest banks have been fighting to widen exemptions to the Volcker Rule that would allow banks to continue making risky trades of this sort. ”I hope that the final [Volcker] rule will prevent this,” said Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), whose name graces the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill, on ABC today. “The Volcker Rule is still being formulated.” — Think Progress

  • RNC Chief: Leave Wall Street alone – Host David Gregory asked a straightforward question: “In light of the losses on Wall Street this week, you think we need less financial regulation rather than more?” In Preibus’ mind, it’s not even a close call: “I think we need less.” The RNC chief added that Democrats have “made things worse” by approving new safeguards and adding new layers of accountability to the financial system. It reminded me of an Upton Sinclair line: “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.” — Steve Benen
  • Democratic Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren called for JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon to resign his position as a director at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. In a statement posted on her website, Warren said Dimon stepping down would “send a signal to the American people that Wall Street bankers get it and to show that they understand the need for responsibility and accountability.” – The Hill
  • JPMorgan Chase has been lobbying to make exactly the kind of trades that just lost the company billions of dollars. – Edward Wyatt in The New York Times
  • JPMorgan Chase’s loss proves the need for bank regulation. – Paul Krugman in The New York Times
  • More from Ezra Klein…
  • How Wall Street Killed Financial Reform – The fate of Dodd-Frank over the past two years is an object lesson in the government’s inability to institute even the simplest and most obvious reforms, especially if those reforms happen to clash with powerful financial interests. From the moment it was signed into law, lobbyists and lawyers have fought regulators over every line in the rulemaking process. Congressmen and presidents may be able to get a law passed once in a while – but they can no longer make sure it stays passed. You win the modern financial-regulation game by filing the most motions, attending the most hearings, giving the most money to the most politicians and, above all, by keeping at it, day after day, year after fiscal year, until stealing is legal again. “It’s like a scorched-earth policy,” says Michael Greenberger, a former regulator who was heavily involved with the drafting of Dodd-Frank. “It requires constant combat. And it never, ever ends.” That the banks have just about succeeded in strangling Dodd-Frank is probably not news to most Americans – it’s how they succeeded that’s the scary part. –  Matt Taibbi | Rolling Stone

PRESIDENT OBAMA / DEMOCRATS————————————————————

The coming issue of Newsweek: Andrew Sullivan on Barack Obama’s Gay Marriage Evolution – The president’s bold support shifted the mainstream. Andrew Sullivan on why it shouldn’t be surprising—Obama’s life as a biracial man has deep ties to the gay experience. [...] To have the president of the United States affirm my humanity—and the humanity of all gay Americans—was, unexpectedly, a watershed. He shifted the mainstream in one interview. And last week, a range of Democratic leaders—from Harry Reid to Steny Hoyer—backed the president, who moved an entire party behind a position that only a few years ago was regarded as simply preposterous. And in response, Mitt Romney could only stutter.

A new two-minute Obama commercial stars steelworkers somberly dismantling Mitt Romney’s record as a job creator at Bain Capital. “I know how business works. I know why jobs come and why they go,” says Romney in the clip. But the veterans of Kansas City’s GST Steel tell a different story of the Bain takeover, which occurred in 1993 and resulted in about 750 people out of work: “They made as much money off of it as they could. And they closed it down,” laments Joe Soptic, a steelworker for three decades. “It was like a vampire,” says another. “They came in and sucked the life out of us.” The extra-long spot has an extended version online at RomneyEconomics.com, and both are packed with soundbites. “It was like watching an old friend bleed to death,” adds one worker. “Bain Capital walked away with a lot of money that they made off this plant. We view Mitt Romney as a job destroyer.” – Steelworkers Slam Mitt Romney and Bain Capital in Harsh New Obama Ad — Daily Intel

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Why the ’80/20 rule’ matters – Over the summer, 16 million Americans are going to get some nice checks in the mail from their insurance company, due entirely to the fact that the much-derided health care law is looking out for consumers, not insurers. As the segment explained, folks like getting unexpected money in the mail. When they realize it’s because of Obamacare, maybe the law will start to look a little better in those consumers’ eyes. That checks will hit mailboxes a few months before the election probably doesn’t hurt Obama’s potential benefit, either. It’s also worth keeping in mind these rebate checks will disappear if/when Republicans kill the entirety of the law, replacing it with nothing: “Some House and Senate Republicans are now admitting what’s been obvious from the start: that the Republican vow to ‘repeal and replace’ Obama’s health law has always been a bait-and-switch.” — Steve Benen

Morning Bunker Report: Sunday 5.13.2012

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WHAT THE REPUBLICAN PARTY STANDS FOR TODAY—————————–—

Mitt Romney panders to the far-right Christian fundagelicals who think his religion is a cult – Toward the beginning of the ceremony, Mark DeMoss, a well-known Evangelical and longtime Romney supporter, took to the podium to vouch for the Mormon candidate. He recounted a meeting between Romney and Dr. Falwell four years ago, after which the candidate sent the pastor a chair engraved with the words, “There’s always room for you at my table.” ”I trust him to do the right thing,” DeMoss said. “To do the moral thing, to do what’s best for our country. I trust his integrity, his moral compass, his judgment, and his perfect decency. Finally, I trust his values, for I feel they mirror my own.” It was meant to be a unifying moment of culture war diplomacy on DeMoss’s part, a nod to his fellow Evangelicals that Romney was, in fact, one of them. But in the middle of his speech, an angry voice from the back of the graduates’ section interrupted: “Hey Mitt! Jesus is the only way!” [...] For the thousands of conservative Evangelicals on campus Saturday who reject the candidate’s claim to Christianity, Romney may represent a compromise: They’re voting for him because they can’t do better. —  Mitt Romney’s Pitch To The True Believers [image: arcaneimages]

  • THE BOND between Romney and Christian fundagelical fascists will be a shared hate of those who are different: “As fundamental as these principles are, they may become topics of democratic debate. So it is today with the enduring institution of marriage. Marriage is a relationship between one man and one woman. The protection of religious freedom has also become a matter of debate. It strikes me as odd that the free exercise of religious faith is sometimes treated as a problem, something America is stuck with instead of blessed with. Perhaps religious conscience upsets the designs of those who feel that the highest wisdom and authority comes from government.” - Mitt Romney, speaking at today’s commencement at Dead Dead Dead Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University.
  • Romney backs away from supporting same-sex adoption – “Well, actually I think all states but one allow gay adoption. So that’s a position which has been decided by most of the state legislatures, including the one in my state some time ago. So I simply acknowledge the fact that gay adoption is legal in all states but one.” – Raw Story
  • JESUS CHRIST Himself is too ‘counterculture’ for this place: No ‘Counterculture’ Hair Allowed At Liberty University – the rules governing hair on Liberty’s campus are very strict. From the rules for men: Hair and clothing styles related to a counterculture (as determined by the Student Affairs Deans’ Review Committee) are not acceptable. Hair should be cut in such a way that it will not come over the ears, collar or eyebrows at any time. Ponytails for men are unacceptable.

Wait, Suddenly Right-Wing Bloggers Don’t Want Candidates Vetted? – In the wake of the Washington Post’s unflattering article yesterday about how five of Mitt Romney’s high school classmates recalled the Republican candidate leading an assault against a presumed gay schoolmate, pinning him down, and cutting his long hair while tears filled up in the boy’s eyes, conservative bloggers were indignant the Post would bother with such trivial pursuits. -”Is a decades old high school story really ‘news’?” (Washington Post blogger Jennifer Rubin.) -”Cutting-edge reporting from WaPo: Let’s take an in-depth look at … Romney’s cruel high-school pranks.” (Ed Morrissey) -”It’s a waste of time and energy and effort.” (Fox News’ Karl Rove.) -”BREAKING NEWS: Mitt Romney Went to High School. Seriously.” (Erick Erickson) Suddenly the far-right press thinks it’s pointless to delve deep into a candidate’s past in search of clues about his personality and clues to what shaped him into an adult. Suddenly they mock efforts by the press to paint a detailed personal portrait of would-be presidents by combing over their biographies. In short, suddenly right-wing bloggers are strongly opposed to vetting. – Media Matters

YOUR LIBERAL MEDIA: NBC’s David Gregory To Headline Conference For Major Republican Advocacy Group – The Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics states: Journalists should: — Avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived. — Remain free of associations and activities that may compromise integrity or damage credibility. — Refuse gifts, favors, fees, free travel and special treatment, and shun secondary employment, political involvement, public office and service in community organizations if they compromise journalistic integrity. Regardless of whether Gregory is being paid for this event and of what he says in his keynote, allowing the NFIB to raise money for its political mission using his name, reputation, and celebrity appears to be at odds with journalistic ethics. — Think Progress

Arizona Ron Paul supporters boo Romney’s son off stage – Supporters of Ron Paul booed the son of presidential hopeful Mitt Romney off the stage Saturday at the Arizona Republican Party convention as he sought to solidify support for his father’s nomination. Hundreds of state GOP members were gathered at Grand Canyon University to elect delegates for the national convention in August in Tampa, which is expected to select Mitt Romney as the official Republican nominee to challenge President Barack Obama. — azcentral.com

PRESIDENT OBAMA / DEMOCRATS————————————————————

Obama Camp Ties Romney To JP Morgan Scandal – The Obama campaign is seizing on the news that financial giant JP Morgan lost billions of dollars trading derivatives with customer funds to attack Mitt Romney for wanting to repeal the 2010 law meant to curtail these kinds of risky bets. “Rolling back Wall Street reform, as Mitt Romney proposes, would be reckless,” says Obama camp spokeswoman Lis Smith in a statement to TPM. “The law promotes transparency, limits the types of risky investments that can be made with deposits insured by federal taxpayers, and prevents investment losses at one bank from threatening the whole financial system. Returning to the failed policy of letting Wall Street write their own rules would put all of us at greater risk of another financial crisis and leave us vulnerable to another taxpayer-funded bank bailout like the one shortly before President Obama took office.” – TPM

Obamacare: A Mother’s Day Gift For All Moms Throughout The U.S. – People always say good health is the greatest gift, so let’s make health a priority this Mother’s Day. Now that I am a mother myself, I am even more appreciative that I have health insurance that covers the care I need. All moms deserve the kind of quality, affordable care that I was lucky enough to receive while pregnant and postpartum, and Obamacare is working to make that dream a reality. — Think Progress

HOW JOURNALISM is done: MSNBC’s Chris Matthews Demonstrates How To Handle Tony Perkins On Television – Perkins’ presence on MSNBC isn’t surprising – the hate group leader has become a regular guest on the network over the past several months, and has typically been treated as a credible, uncontroversial political figure, especially on Hardball. On Thursday, however, things were different.For nearly 15 minutes, Matthews, with the help of Frank, grilled Perkins on his views on homosexuality, marriage equality, and same-sex parenting. Matthews challenged Perkins’ anti-gay misinformation, held him accountable for past statements, and demonstrated how out-of-the-mainstream his extreme positions really are. This is exactly the kind of interview that major news outlets should be conducting when dealing with someone like Perkins. – Media Matters

…

Dianne Feinstein Defends Obama On Gay Marriage: ‘What’s Wrong With People Being Happy?’ – When asked whether Obama had made a political calculation in endorsing gay marriage, Feinstein rejected the idea. “I don’t think it is a flip flop and there is no political calculus in this, because it is not smart from a political point of view. It doesn’t make sense,” Feinstein said. “From a personal point of view, I can tell you what happened because it happened to me,” she continued. “You get to know more and more gay couples and you see the happiness. You see the economic security that marriage brings. And even more fundamentally, you can see children who otherwise would not have an adopted home being able to have that home. And so same-sex couples raise children, they do a fine job. And I think when you see this — and it has happened in California — more and more people say, ‘What is wrong with people being happy?’” — HuffPo [image: randomactsofchaos]

BREAK UP BIG BANKS: A message from Bernie Sanders – J.P. Morgan Chase revealed that its in-house trading operation lost $2 billion in the past six weeks. “The debacle at J.P. Morgan Chase reaffirms my view that the largest six banks in this country, including J.P. Morgan Chase, which have assets equivalent to two-thirds of our GDP, must be broken up. This is important in order to bring more competition into the financial marketplace and to prevent another ‘too-big-to-fail’ bailout,” Sen. Bernie Sanders said. “At a time when 23 million Americans are either unemployed or underemployed, huge financial institutions should not be involved in ‘making wagers or high-stake bets.’ They should be investing in the productive economy creating jobs and improving our standard of living.” — Crooks & Liars

Betty White says she ‘very, very much favors’ Obama – As she prepares to visit the Smithsonian Institution and National Zoo next week, White told The Associated Press she “very, very much favors” President Barack Obama in the election. The 90-year-old actress said Friday she is very bi-partisan and has stayed away from politics all of her life. She usually never says who she is for or against because she doesn’t want to turn off any of her adoring fans. White says in this year’s election, she likes what Obama has done and “how he represents us.” – HuffPo

Did Bristol Palin get opposite-sex married yet?

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The self-awareness gene is completely missing in this one. Bristol and her ghost writer explain why Tawd Palin is a superior father to President Obama. Hilarious commentary from TBogg:

Backseat Bristol Palin has once again allowed her mom to use her name to dictate some word shrapnel to the person who writes both Bristol’s blog as well as Sarah Facebook Screech Wall. [...] this person…wrote a thing about that Oblamer black fella who used his terrorist pals to deny Sarah Palin, Queen of the North, her rightful place on the Iron Throne, and how he is cool with non-opposite marriage now because his daughters have friends with gay baby-momma + other gay baby-momma for “parents”:

While it’s great to listen to your kids’ ideas, there’s also a time when dads simply need to be dads.  In this case, it would’ve been helpful for him to explain to Malia and Sasha that while her friends parents are no doubt lovely people, that’s not a reason to change thousands of years of thinking about marriage.  Or that – as great as her friends may be – we know that in general kids do better growing up in a mother/father home.  Ideally, fathers help shape their kids’ worldview.

[...] Anyway, it’s too bad that Malia & Sasha Obama don’t have a “real” (white) father, like Todd Palin, with his stern rules about dating like “Be in by midnight”, “Don’t forget to bring me home some beer” and “Spitters are quitters”.

…
An exhausted nation pleads with all the Half-term-Quitter-Snowbilly-Grifters of the Far North: STFU.

It’s Mormon Cultist Day at fundagelical Liberty University!

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Two items of interest from the The Maddow Blog: 

  1. When President Obama endorsed marriage equality this week, he announced a position that his church, the United Church of Christ, has supported for quite a while.
  2. Falwell U. offers a course that identifies Mormons as belonging to a “cult” that must be defeated.


via: christopherstreet

I keep reading about how Romney can’t close the deal with the fundagelicals no matter what he does. Christ, what does he have to do?  Beat up a gay kid?

TRUE STORY: 

Among Mitt Romney’s timid responses this week after President Obama’s endorsement of marriage equality was an admission that he was “fine” with same-sex couples adopting children, saying, “that’s something that people have a right to do.” But by Friday afternoon, he was already backing away from that position, suggesting that he merely “acknowledges” that many states offer same-sex adoption – Mitt Romney’s Support Of Same-Sex Adoption Lasts One Day


via: christopherstreet

Mitt Romney Will Not Be Distracted by ‘Counterculture’ Hair During His Liberty University Speech – That’s because, according to the school handbook, “hair and clothing styles related to a counterculture (as determined by the Student Affairs Deans’ Review Committee) are not acceptable” at Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University, where Romney is giving a commencement address this Saturday. “Hair should be cut in such a way that it will not come over the ears, collar or eyebrows at any time,” the handbook continues.


via: liberalsarecool

Mitt Romney’s defenders speak out (all two of them): According to Ann Romney, Mitt is still the “crazy” guy from high school who loves “playing jokes” on people. And according to his high school friend Gregg Dearth, Romney probably was merely acting “jokingly” when he bullied John Lauber. Dearth, who didn’t witness the attack, imagined it was probably a barrel of laughs, the kind of thing that might “traumatize” or “scare” somebody, but “no harm, no foul.” So there you have it, folks. Mitt Romney was a crazy jokester who liked to traumatize and scare people unfortunate enough to be his lesser, but there’s nothing wrong with that. And he’s still the same guy today that he was back then. No harm, no foul.


via: guiseppegetto

Jonathan Chait: Perhaps that is the deeper fixation: It is not enough for Romney to have perfect hair. Others must have terrible hair.

Steve Benen / Maddow Blog: But for the larger mainstream, the commencement address suggests Romney’s post-primary shift away from his party’s more extreme elements still isn’t happening. What’s more, despite all the talk about his focus on the economy, the Republican’s anti-gay agenda is reinforced, not just with his push for a constitutional amendment, but with his decision to visit a school that considers itself a “hard liner institution against the homosexual menace.”


via: corporationsarepeople

Morning Bunker Report: Thursday 5.10.2012

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WHAT THE REPUBLICAN PARTY STANDS FOR TODAY—————————–—

BIPARTISANSHIP to the modern Republican: after defeating Sen. Dick Lugar in the Indiana primary, Richard Mourdock dismissed Lugar’s parting shot.
 
Source: sandandglass

PART OF SEN. RICHARD LUGAR’S searing concession statement – “Too often bipartisanship is equated with centrism or deal cutting. Bipartisanship is not the opposite of principle. One can be very conservative or very liberal and still have a bipartisan mindset. Such a mindset acknowledges that the other party is also patriotic and may have some good ideas. It acknowledges that national unity is important, and that aggressive partisanship deepens cynicism, sharpens political vendettas, and depletes the national reserve of good will that is critical to our survival in hard times. Certainly this was understood by President Reagan, who worked with Democrats frequently and showed flexibility that would be ridiculed today — from assenting to tax increases in the 1983 Social Security fix, to compromising on landmark tax reform legislation in 1986, to advancing arms control agreements in his second term. I don’t remember a time when so many topics have become politically unmentionable in one party or the other. Republicans cannot admit to any nuance in policy on climate change. Republican members are now expected to take pledges against any tax increases. For two consecutive Presidential nomination cycles, GOP candidates competed with one another to express the most strident anti-immigration view, even at the risk of alienating a huge voting bloc… If fealty to these pledges continues to expand, legislators may pledge their way into irrelevance. Voters will be electing a slate of inflexible positions rather than a leader…” – Ezra Klein

COLIN POWELL: War with Iraq was never debated — Former Secretary of State Colin Powell provides what may be the most authoritative confirmation yet that there was never a considered debate in the George W. Bush White House about whether going to war in Iraq was really a good idea. [...] “By then, the President did not think war could be avoided,” Powell writes. “He had crossed the line in his own mind, even though the NSC [National Security Council] had never met — and never would meet — to discuss the decision.” – HuffPo

 
AFTER WEEKS of blaming Obama for rising gas prices, Fox News is asking if the decrease in gas prices may be a bad thing, links the decrease to a weak economy and, again, blames Obama. – Fox News: Rising gas prices were bad. Now falling prices are bad. Both are Obama’s fault

MICHELE BACHANN granted dual Swiss-American citizenship – “Congresswoman Bachmann’s husband is of Swiss descent so she has been eligible for dual-citizenship since they got married in 1978,” said her spokeswoman Becky Rogness said in a statement given to the Politico.com website and other US media…“Recently some of their children wanted to exercise their eligibility for dual-citizenship so they went through the process as a family,” the spokeswoman said. – Raw Story 

  • BACHMANN HAS ISSUES with the truth — even about this: Her statement that she has been a citizen since 1978 is based off a technicality – at the time of her marriage, automatic citizenship was granted to those who married Swiss citizens. However, Marcus Bachmann, her husband, did not register their marriage with Swiss authorities until this year – meaning that the Swiss government was not aware of it until recently. — Politico
  • AS A CITIZEN OF SWITZERLAND, Bachmann [and her kids] can now partake in a healthcare system that is the envy of the world. It has transparent costs, it is consumer driven, and it provides near universal coverage. It also has an individual mandate: all Swiss citizens are required to purchase basic health insurance. You may recall that the current Supreme Court challenge against Obamacare rests on the contention that its health insurance mandate is unconstitutional. The Swiss mandate seems to only apply to all residents of Switzerland, so Bachmann may be able to get out of it by not living there full time. – The Daily Beast

PRESIDENT OBAMA / DEMOCRATS————————————————————

OBAMA: ‘Same sex couples should be able to get married’ – It’s a breakthrough moment for a president who already has a rather impressive record on advancing LGBT rights, and an unexpected step forward for the gay-rights movement. — Steve Benen [image: drunkonstevphen]

  • That isn’t an “impressive” record. It’s AMAZING. That’s what flummoxes me about many activists. Those are real accomplishments, yet we still had folks (Dan Choi, Aravosis, I’m looking at you) flaming the President. …What is listed here are real actions. …But even if Obama had maintained his earlier position on same-sex marriage, he still has done more to advance gay rights than any other President, by a ridiculously wide margin. Faced with a congress more hostile than what Bill Clinton ever faced, he is UNDOING much of the damage inflicted on the gay community by none other than Bill Clinton. — John Cole

THANK President Obama for supporting marriage equality!

~~~

REID DRAWS A LINE on Rolling Back Sequester – Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced yesterday that Senate Democrats would not agree to replace mandated spending cuts unless Republicans agree to a “balanced” approach that asks the wealthy to help pay for it. – Roll Call

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS sees a lesson for the United States in the European elections — “In the United States and around the world, the middle class is in steep decline while the wealthy and large corporations are doing phenomenally well. The message sent by voters in France and other European countries, which I believe will be echoed here in the United States, is that the wealthy and large corporations are going to have to experience some austerity also and that that burden cannot solely fall on working families. In the United States, where corporate profits are soaring and the gap between the rich and everybody else is growing wider, we must end corporate tax loopholes and start making the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes. At the same time, we must protect Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Austerity, yes, but for millionaires and billionaires, not the working families of this country.” — Crooks & Liars

FROM PETER ORSZAG, after reporting on new evidence that the incomes of the very rich are far more sensitive to economic growth than in the past: If anything, high-earning households should be the ones most in favor of aggressively boosting the economy in the short run — and not just out of benevolence. Yet I suspect, without definitive proof, that support for additional stimulus declines as one moves up the income scale. – Well, I suspect that he suspects right. I also suspect that the very rich (a) just flatly don’t believe that Keynesian stimulus works, and (b) know for sure that tax cuts will increase their disposable incomes. So it’s Team Austerity for them. Sure, they’ll have to ride out the bad times by letting one of the yacht scrubbers go, but everyone has to make sacrifices, right? — Kevin Drum

image: Austerity Fever | NYTimes