122 documents found in 0.001 seconds.

May 10, 2013 04:28 PM

Michele Bachmann: 9/11 and Benghazi Were God's Judgment

By scarce

DOWNLOADS: (56)

PLAYS: (265)

Embed

I have no idea what she's talking about here. via Rightwing Watch:

On Wednesday, Religious Right activists and members of Congress gathered together for a prayer event held in Statuary Hall at the US Capitol called "Washington: A Man of Prayer."

Among the speakers was Rep. Michele Bachmann, who used the opportunity to promote the 9/11 prayer event being organized by Birther-king Joseph Farah, saying that "it is no secret that our nation may very well be experiencing the hand of judgment" and declaring that both the original 9/11 attack and the attack in Benghazi on 9/11 of last year were God's judgment.

As such, the only recourse, Bachmann said, is to humble ourselves before God and cry out in repentance for this nation.

God doesn't like where things are going so sent these 9/11 attacks to send us a message. That's about the size of it, huh?

Michele Bachmann: It’s no secret that our nation may very well be experiencing the hand of judgment. It’s no secret that we all are concerned that our nation may be in a time of decline. If that is in fact so, what is the answer? The answer is what we are doing here today: humbling ourselves before an almighty God, crying out to an almighty God, saying not of ourselves but you, would you save us oh God? We repent of our sins, we turn away from them, we seek you, we seek your ways. That’s something that we’re doing today, that we did on the National Day of Prayer, it’s something that we have chosen to do as well on another landmark day later this year on September 11. Our nation has seen judgment not once but twice on September 11. That’s why we’re going to have ‘9/11 Pray’ on that day. Is there anything better that we can do on that day rather than to humble ourselves and to pray to an almighty God?

There are reasons Michele Bachmann needed $25mil to squeak out a 1% win in 2012 in a decidedly red district over a Democrat she outspent over 10-1, but the main one is obvious: she's insane.

Tags: Michele Bachmann, Religion, Religious Right, Tea Party movement

• Comments
• Print

---

March 18, 2013 05:58 PM

Scarborough Demands Eugene Robinson List Issues Harming RNC African-American Outreach Fiasco

By Heather

DOWNLOADS: (66)

PLAYS: (345)

Embed

During a discussion about RNC Chairman Reince Priebus and his latest effort to try to "fix" the GOP and his so-called "minority outreach initiative," which, as we already discussed here, looks like it's headed to be a massive flop, MSNBC's Joe Scarborough decided he'd give old Reince a hand with that minority outreach program by badgering guest Eugene Robinson and demanding he name "the top three issues that make that sort of outreach difficult for Republicans."

Note to Joe Scarborough -- if you want to help out with reaching out to African-Americans, here's a few things you could do. One, don't do it while badgering one of your African-American guests to rattle off a list while you brow beat them and presume that they would want to speak for every other African-American in the country. And don't pretend you don't know full well what the real answers to your questions are already.

Here's a hint on why the Republicans lost the majority of the African-American vote: The New Deal and the Civil Rights Act. And then we there's the Southern Strategy and demonizing and fearmongering to win elections. And to this day you can throw in voter disenfranchisement, these White Supremacist groups and militias cropping up everywhere, the birther movement, the overt racism we saw come from these TeaBirchers and the fact that the Republican party looks like they've completely lost their minds since the election of the first black president.

I'll leave it at that but the list is miles long when it comes to what Republicans have done to slowly disenfranchise the majority of the electorate other than old white men. Good luck with that outreach program Reince. You're going to need it.

Tags: African-Americans, Barack Obama, Civil Rights, Eugene Robinson, Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski, minorities, Morning Joe, MSNBC, racism, Reince Priebus, Republican Party, RNC, tea party

• Comments
• Print

---

March 15, 2013 04:30 AM

Michael Steele Pretends Trump Has Given Up His Birther Madness

By Heather

From this Thursday's Hardball, former RNC Chairman and now unfortunately for anyone who watches the network, MSNBC contributor Michael Steele, decided to get into a spat with Chris Matthews over whether CPAC 2013 ought to be inviting the likes of birthers like Donald Trump to speak at the conference rather than those from the Republican party who might actually have a chance of winning a national election. Steele's response was basically to dismiss all of Trump's birther talk and attempt to paint it as ancient history.

That was so last month, don't you know. Al Cardenas, chairman of the American Conservative Union which runs the event defended their choice of speakers as well, but I'm with Matthews on what we're likely to hear from The Donald when he takes the stage:

Matthews surmised CPAC’s theory was, “invite the noisemakers and snub the people who might actually lead you out of the wilderness.”

If you look at the scheduled speaking times, CPAC’s priorities are clear. Sen. Ted Cruz is allotted 33 minutes of speaking time, Sarah Palin has 16 minutes, and Donald Trump gets 14 minutes. Down at the bottom are Marco Rubio and Paul Ryan with 11 minutes a piece.

Matthews asked former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele if Trump’s conservative message at CPAC could be overshadowed by all of his birther talk about President Obama.

“I think that characterization can be put behind Donald Trump…Let’s see what the man says tomorrow,” said Steele, telling Matthews that no one’s talking about the birther issue “but you. You’re the only person bringing it up.”

“You know why?” Matthews said. “Because people who think that the president is an illegal immigrant shouldn’t be talking out loud almost anywhere.”

Cardenas said Trump was invited because he’s a “successful businessman” who can reflect on the realities of today’s economy. “I think he’ll be a positive influence on the youngsters here.”

Tags: Al Cardenas, American Conservative Union, birtherism, birthers, Chris Matthews, Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2013, Donald Trump, Hardball, Michael Steele, MSNBC, Republican Party, Wingnuts

• Comments
• Print

---

February 09, 2013 04:30 AM

Bill Maher Blasts Donald Trump for Suit Over Orangutan Joke

By Heather

DOWNLOADS: (738)

PLAYS: (13047)

Embed

Anyone who is a regular reader of this site is probably already familiar with Donald Trump's threat to sue Bill Maher over his joke where he asked flame thrower and birther for proof that he was not the result of his mother having sex with an orangutan. Well, now that Trump followed through on his threat, Maher responded during his New Rules segment on HBO this Friday evening, and let's just say, the results weren't pretty for Trump.

Maher took Trump apart and opened up the segment with this:

Continue reading »

Tags: Barack Obama, Bill Maher, birtherism, Donald Trump, HBO, law suit, New Rules, Real Time, Real Time with Bill Maher

• Read more
• Comments
• Print

---

February 02, 2013 06:08 PM

AR Rep. Jason Rapert: ‘We’re Not Going To Allow Minorities To Run Roughshod’

By Heather

DOWNLOADS: (175)

PLAYS: (1433)

Embed

As David Atkins over at Digby's place noted in regard to this wingnut, "Republicans are reaping what they sowed. They rode this circus to power for 30 years using the Southern Strategy and now they get to live with it. Try as they might, the RNC isn't going to get away from this anytime soon. They can run Marco Rubio for President all they'd like, but countless politicians like this guy will be making headlines for years and years to come, wiping away Republican support from decent-minded communities everywhere.

Here's more from Lee Fang's article Rachel mentioned in the clip above: Meet Jason Rapert, the Koch-Backed Evangelical Steering Arkansas's Radical Abortion-Restriction Effort:

On Wednesday, the Arkansas legislature lurched forward with a radical measure to ban most abortions if a fetal heartbeat is detected within six weeks of a pregnancy, a requirement experts say will force the state to insert a probe into a woman’s vagina to detect.

The bill also penalizes doctors who perform abortions after the arbitrary cut-off date with a Class D felony, carrying up to six years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. The chief sponsor of the measure is Republican State Senator Jason Rapert, a fiddle-playing financial planner with his own evangelical outreach center that hosts mission trips to Uganda, Ghana and the Philippines. He has been among the loudest anti-abortion politicians in the state, and has sponsored a number of other radical bills, including a very strange effort to organize a constitutional convention to give state legislatures power over the national debt limit.

Here he is at a Tea Party rally from 2011, not only complaining about Obama’s Ramadan event but also warning the president that his people have had enough of “minorities” running the country (emphasis added):

RAPERT: I hear you loud and clear, Barack Obama. You don’t represent the country that I grew up with. And your values is not going to save us. We’re going to take this country back for the Lord. We’re going to try to take this country back for conservatism. And we’re not going to allow minorities to run roughshod over what you people believe in!

[...]

In another part of the same speech, Rapert proudly declares himself a birther and attacks the state Supreme Court for knocking down a ban on gay adoptions as example of “minority interests running roughshod over you and me.”

While Rapert certainly enjoys wide support in many corners of the evangelical movement (here he is Rev. John Hagee), what interests me is how many white-shoe corporations stepped in to support his candidacy last year. A look at his final campaign finance report reveals direct corporate dollars and corporate political action committees sponsored by companies supposedly friendly to women:

Here are some examples: Southwestern Energy Company PAC gave $2,000; ARCH PAC, of Arch Coal, gave $1,000; Eli Lilly and Company gave $500; Lisa Allen, an executive with Cox Communications, gave $1,000; Nucor Corp PAC of AR gave $500; AT&T Arkansas PAC gave $2,000; Verizon gave $1,000; and American Electric Power PAC gave $500. Read on...

Go read the rest for more on his donors, including as the title of the piece notes, the Koch brothers. Here's more on him from Think Progress:

Rapert’s other proposals include amending the U.S. Constitution to give state legislatures control of the federal debt limit and for the absolute elimination of all parole for state prisoners.

Tags: Abortion, anti-abortion extremists, Arkansas, Arkansas legislature, Barack Obama, Jason Rapert, racism, Republican Party, tea party, teabaggers, Wingnuts

• Comments
• Print

---

January 25, 2013 11:16 PM

Maddow Looks at List of Wingnuts Hoping to Succeed Chambliss

By Heather

DOWNLOADS: (199)

PLAYS: (1659)

Embed

Now that Saxby Chambliss has decided he doesn't want to have to face a primary race for his Senate seat, Rachel Maddow took her viewers through the list of potential replacements that would like to succeed him, and it's a doozy.

Georgia's Saxby Chambliss to retire:

Just a few months ago, Sen. Saxby Chambliss, a two-term Republican incumbent from Georgia, started facing credible primary threats in advance of his 2014 re-election bid. In a bit of a surprise, the senator has said there won't be a re-election campaign -- Chambliss is retiring at the end of his term (via James Carter). [...]

The news was not widely expected, and Chambliss was expected to win re-election if he sought another term.

What's especially interesting now, however, is the field of Republican candidates who may try to succeed Chambliss in 2014. One of the leading GOP officials to watch is Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.), who said just this week that was considering taking on Chambliss in a primary, and with the incumbent stepping down, the congressman is that much more likely to run himself.

That would set up quite a campaign -- Broun is one of Congress' more ridiculous members, and a Senate campaign would create an Akin-in-Missouri situation in which a candidate may simply be too nutty to compete on a statewide level, even in the South. In this case, Broun is perhaps best known for arguing that that cosmology, biology, and geology are, quite literally, "lies straight from the pit of Hell," and that President Obama only believes in supporting "the Soviet constitution."

In other words, even among loony extremists, Broun is almost a caricature of himself.

This matters because Georgia could prove to be far more interesting than expected. In 2008, when Chambliss sought a second term, he won by a narrow margin after being forced into a runoff when he won 49% of the vote on Election Day. Since then, Georgia's population has only grown more diverse.

If a strong Democratic candidate faced off against a ridiculous right-wing extremist, could this become a blue-to-red pick-up opportunity? Quite possibly, yes.

We've got more on Broun here: Is Paul Broun the dumbest member of Congress? Signs point to Yes and here: Rep. Paul Broun: Evolution, Embryology, and the Big Bang Theory are 'Lies Straight from the Pit of Hell'.

And as Rachel mentioned, another potential candidate is Karen Handel whose anti-abortion views are so extreme they just about took down a cancer charity: Former Susan G. Koman Exec May Run For Senate In Georgia.

And then there's Todd Akin's buddy Phil Gingrey: Republican Congressman Backs Akin’s ‘Legitimate Rape’ Comments: ‘He’s Partly Right’.

Steve Benen's article also mentioned Herman Cain, but Rachel informed her viewers that alas, Cain has said he's not running.

Tags: anti-abortion extremists, Birther, Georgia, Herman Cain, Karen Handel, legitimate rape, Paul Broun, Phil Gingrey, primary race, Republican Party, Saxby Chambliss, Senate, Susan G Komen foundation, Todd Akin, Wingnuts

• Comments
• Print

---

January 22, 2013 11:20 AM

Birther Republican Official Hangs Flag Upside Down for Obama's Inauguration

By David

DOWNLOADS: (134)

PLAYS: (887)

Embed

A Republican official in Pennsylvania says that he doesn't regret hanging at least three American flags upside down to protest President Barack Obama's second inauguration because "our nation is in a horrible place."

WPXI's Julie Fine took a news crew to party headquarters in McKeesport to speak to Mon Valley Republican Party Chair Brent Kovac after the station began receiving complaints that the official signal of distress was over the line on a day that most Americans put partisanship aside.

"Sometimes people need a strong statement," Kovac explained to Fine. "The nation is in distress, and this isn't the first time this has been done, whether you agree with the sentiment or not."

Outside the committee offices, Kovac hung one upside-down flag beneath a sign supporting former nominee Mitt Romney that read, "Ambassador murdered in Libya by terrorists. Obama is running Big Bird TV ads against Romney. Vote for an adult for president..."

"Military people fight for that flag everyday," the WPXI reporter noted. "What do you say to them?"

"Some of them might be flying their flag upside down too," Kovac insisted.

"You're telling me you think somebody in the military is flying their flag upside down today?" Fine pressed.

"I didn't say that I know that," Kovac admitted. "I think I've created a little bit of dialog."

Allegheny County Republican Party Chair Jim Roddey told WPXI that he disagreed with Kovac's actions.

"We are disappointed in the outcome of the election but we would do nothing to disrespect the Office of the President of the United States," Roddey said in a statement.

In a letter posted on the Mon Valley Republican Party website prior to the Nov. 6 election, Kovac had suggested that the president may not be a U.S. citizen and conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart may have been murdered as part of a liberal conspiracy.

"[C]onveniently the most ferocious and effective conservative activists Andrew Brietbart, dies of a heart attack at 42 years old, just seven months from the Presidential election, followed by the coroner that performed his autopsy from poisoning," he wrote. "Yea.. I’m just a paranoid right winger.. however, before I became one.. I didn’t believe in coincidences, .. I definitely don’t believe in that kind of coincidence."

"As if that wasn’t cause for inquiry alone, our President hasn’t proven himself a natural-born citizen, satisfactorily to anyone yet, and is thumbing his nose at us by producing the laughable birth certificate that he came up with... the media.. gives him a total pass. While chasing down a story about what Mitt Romney was doing in high school."

He concluded: "What we’ve lost, was lost long before Barack Obama took office. He is here to finish a job that was started years ago.. but the level of disrespect and disdain for the average American that President Obama has shown is insulting and it is obvious that the powers that be are confident that they barely need to disguise their efforts to turn us into a socialist country."

(h/t: Think Progress)

Tags: Andrew Breitbart, Andrew Brietbart, Barack Obama, birthers, Brent Kovac, Jim Roddey, Julie Fine, Mitt Romney, Republican Party

• Comments
• Print

---

January 13, 2013 11:50 AM

Colin Powell: Republicans Using 'Racial-Era Slave Terms' to Attack Obama

By David

DOWNLOADS: (209)

PLAYS: (1348)

Embed

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, who is a Republican, is lashing out at a "dark vein of intolerance" in his own party, which he says is being created by people like former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu who use racial code words and "slave terms" to attack President Barack Obama.

During a Sunday interview, NBC's David Gregory asked Powell why he continued to consider himself a Republican after supporting Obama and taking moderate policy positions.

"I think the Republican Party right now is having an identity problem, and I am still a Republican," Powell explained. "In recent years, there has been a significant shift to the right and we have seen what that shift has produced: two losing presidential campaigns."

"When we see that in one more generation that the minorities of America -- African Americans, Hispanic Americans and Asian Americans -- will be the majority of the country, you can't go around saying, 'We don't want to have a solid immigration policy, we're going to dismiss the 47 percent, we are going to make it hard for the minorities to vote,' as they did in the last election."

"There is also a dark vein of intolerance in some parts of the party," he continued. "They still sort of look down on minorities. How can I evidence that? When I see [Palin] saying that the president is 'shucking and jiving,' that's a racial-era slave term. When I see [Sununu] after the president's first debate, where he didn't do very well, says that the president was 'lazy' -- he didn't say he was slow, he was tired, he didn't do well -- he said he was lazy. Now, it may not mean anything to most Americans, but to those of use who are African Americans, the second word is 'shiftless' and there's a third word that goes along with it."

Powell went on to slam Republicans for "the whole birther movement."

"Why do senior Republican leaders tolerate this kind of discussion within the party?" he wondered. "I think the party has to take a look at itself. It has to take a look at it's responsibilities for health care, it has to take a look at immigration, it has to take a look at those less fortunate than us."

Tags: Barack Obama, birthers, code words, Colin Powell, David Gregory, dog whistle, John Sununu, NBC, racism, Republican Party, Sarah Palin, Tea Party movement

• Comments
• Print

---

October 15, 2012 06:41 PM

Tommy Thompson's Son: We 'Have The Opportunity' To Send Obama Back To Kenya

By Heather

Here's one more reason to send some money to Tommy Thompson's opponent for the Senate in Wisconsin, Tammy Baldwin -- Wisconsin Senate Candidate's Son Says We "Have The Opportunity" To Send Obama Back To Kenya:

Jason Thompson, the son of former Governor and Wisconson Senate candidate Tommy Thompson, speaking this morning at a brunch attended RNC Chairman Reince Priebus said that “we have the opportunity to send President Obama back to Chicago — or Kenya.” A woman in attendance then chimed in “we are taking donations for that Kenya trip.” A spokesman for Thompson did not immediately return a request for comment.

The Thompson campaign since apologized for his son's behavior, but the damage is done. Somehow I don't think it's going to help Thompson with independents to have his kid out there making birther jokes. Here's the link to the Act Blue page for Senate.

Tags: Barack Obama, birtherism, Jason Thompson, racism, Tammy Baldwin, Tommy Thompson, WI-Sen

• Comments
• Print

---

September 14, 2012 07:26 PM

Rachel Maddow Slams Paul Ryan for Appearing at Values Voter Summit

By Heather

DOWNLOADS: (456)

PLAYS: (3005)

Embed

Rachel Maddow let Mitt Romney's running mate, Paul Ryan have it for showing up in the middle of all of the turmoil going on right now in the Middle East and Africa and just after the death of our ambassador in Libya, at the Values Voter Summit 2012. As she noted, if anyone wanted to know why Hillary Clinton was being attacked along with her aid Huma Abedin, look no further than the wingnuts appearing at this event.

Here's more with a rundown of that from Right Wing Watch: Who's Who at the Values Voter Summit 2012:

This weekend Republican and conservative leaders, including GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan, are set to address the Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C. Last year, nearly every single Republican candidate for President addressed the conference, where speakers denounced gay rights, secular government, legal abortion and the Mormon faith.

This year, Ryan will be speaking at a conference that is playing host to some of the most extreme activists in the Religious Right who have made careers demonizing gays and lesbians, attacking the freedoms of Muslim-Americans and promoting wild conspiracies about President Obama. [...]

Jerry Boykin

Family Research Council vice president and retired Army Lt. Gen. William “Jerry” Boykin sparked a controversy when, as a high-ranking official in the Bush Defense Department, he framed the War on Terror as a holy war against Islam. He has since built a career as a Religious Right speaker, specializing in anti-Muslim rhetoric and anti-Obama conspiracy theories. He:

• asserted that “Islam is evil”;
• rejects religious freedom for American Muslims, claiming that Islam “is not just a religion, it is a totalitarian way of life.”
• wants to ban mosques;
• warned Obama is using the health care reform law as a cover to establish a private army of Brownshirts loyal just to him;
• accused the Obama administration of showing “support for the infiltration of the Muslim Brotherhood into our government”;
• claimed the bailout of AIG led to the establishment of Sharia law;
• said that American Jews were misled into supporting Democrats by wrongly thinking Adolf Hitler was right-wing extremist;

Along with his role at the FRC, Boykin is also a leading member of the dominionist group The Oak Initiative. In a speech at the group’s conference last April, he declared that George Soros and the Council on Foreign Relations conspired to collapse the U.S. economy in order to help Obama get elected. [...]

Continue reading »

Tags: #VVS2012, Africa, Egypt, Frank Gaffney, Hillary Clinton, Huma Abedin, Jerry Boykin, Libya, Middle East, Paul Ryan, Rachel Maddow, Religious Right, right-wing extremists, Values Voters Summit 2012

• Read more
• Comments
• Print

---