DOWNLOADS: (93)

PLAYS: (740)

Embed

QOTD from Marco Rubio on this Sunday's Meet the Press:

And I think the best way to do that is for the Republican Party to prove, as I think we can, that we are the party of upward mobility. We are not the party of the people who have made it. Certainly we don't begrudge people who have made it. We celebrate what they've done. And in America, we've always celebrated success.

But we are the party that stands for the people who are trying to make it, the people who are trying to start a business out of the spare bedroom of their home, who are trying to give their kids a better life.

Riiiigggghhht. I don't think you could say the majority of those in the Congress other than the Progressive Caucus in the House and a few I could count on one hand in the Senate are looking out for most of us these days, but Republicans have shown by their actions for a long time now just who they represent, and it's definitely those "who have made it" -- or in other words, the 1 percent.

Full transcript below the fold.

Continue reading »

DOWNLOADS: (171)

PLAYS: (3059)

Embed

Former Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) on Sunday turned the subject to abortion and "unborn children" after being asked about "racist comments" that hurt the Republican Party brand.

During a panel segment on NBC's Meet the Press, host David Gregory asked DeMint to respond to former Secretary of State Colin Powell's charge that there was a "dark vein of intolerance" in the Republican Party because people like former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin had accused President Barack Obama of "shucking and jiving."

"Spending more than we're bringing in and this debt is a moral argument that we need to connect with the American people," the incoming Heritage Foundation president explained. "The reason that I left Congress is because I don't believe the politicians are going to solve our problems unless the American people force them to. They're going to keep spending and borrowing in Washington, they're going to keep implementing policies... that hurt minorities. They're worse off."

"And we can go to Detroit and Philadelphia and Chicago where these liberal progressive policies have been in place for decades, and you see Latinos and African-Americans in failing schools, with high unemployment," he continued. "What we're going to do and I know Gov. [Bobby] Jindal is going to do along with a lot of other governors is show the success stories where the right ideas are implemented, and we're going to show the failures in Detroit and Philadelphia and L.A."

NAACP president Ben Jealous, however, argued that Republicans would be better off "if they're willing to give up on the gasoline that's been the old Dixiecrat rhetoric they've indulged in for the last 40 years."

"They need to stop," Jealous explained. "They need to say, 'We have an old brand as the Grand Old Party, the party of Lincoln, the party of Kemp, the party of people who united this country again and again. Let's be that and let's stop trying to be these Dixiecrats because it just doesn't work for anybody anymore.'"

Pressing DeMint, Gregory asked if he regretted "some of the comments about abortion in this last cycle, about rape, about, again, what Colin Powell thought were veiled racist comments from the party?"

The former South Carolina senator ignored the reference to "racist comments," instead responding with a rant about fetal personhood.

"The fact that we are losing over 3,000 unborn children a day is an important issue," DeMint opined. "But Republicans or conservatives should not engage in a wish list about exceptions for abortion when the other side will not even agree that we have real people, real human beings. And we need to fight the battle where it should be fought. Life is important. We know from all the new technology and improved sonograms that we do have a baby."

"Instead of just offering my opinion on some hypothetical debate about exceptions for abortions, we need to move it back and particularly work with the states that are fighting just for the personhood of the child. And if we can start there, I think America will move with us."

"Little different than the question about rhetoric and how it reaches voters," Gregory noted as he moved on to the next topic.

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."

DOWNLOADS: (114)

PLAYS: (233)

Embed

The more things change, the more they remain the same. It's now almost ten years later, and Colin Powell is still defending going in front of the United Nations and pushing the faulty intelligence to justify our invasion of Iraq. Of course don't expect any introspection from host David Gregory who decided to treat this as merely some policy disagreement between Powell and former Sen. Chuck Hagel, who he was defending as President Obama's pick for Defense Secretary during this segment on Meet the Press.

It's no wonder all of the neocons don't seem to mind re-litigating the invasion of Iraq if this is the type of coverage that we're going to get from our corporate media once those hearings start.

GREGORY: The renewed debate about Iraq is also occurring, the New York Times write about-- writes about that today. And his-- in his memoir, he writes something very pointed about the Iraq war. He writes, "it all comes down to the fact we were asked to vote on a resolution based on half-truths, untruths and wishful thinking. I voted for this resolution that gave the president the authority to go to war in Iraq if all diplomatic efforts were exhausted and failed. Unfortunately, it was not his intention to exhaust all diplomatic efforts.” He is talking about the diplomatic efforts you were engaged in as Secretary of State in the run-up to the war in Iraq.

GEN. POWELL: I would disagree with this characterization. We were basing all of our actions on a national intelligence estimate that the Congress asked for and was provided to the Congress by the CIA. And all of us in the Bush administration at that time accepted the judgment of our 16 intelligence communities. I presented it to the U.N. Three months before I presented it to the U.N., Congress passed a resolution, also supported by Senator Hagel and many other senators that would give the president the authority to go to war. They weren’t half-truths is what we were being told by the intelligence community. We subsequently found out that a lot of that information was not accurate and that is very unfortunate but that’s the way it unfolded.

GREGORY: Was he wrong on Iraq?

GEN. POWELL: With respect to what?

GREGORY: With respect to what he ultimately called a huge foreign policy blunder?

GEN. POWELL: He-- that’s his characterization and if people want to challenge his characterization, they will have that opportunity during the confirmation.

GREGORY: In your judgment, was he wrong on Iraq?

GEN. POWELL: I would not have called it that. I would have said that what I think was wrong was the president had more than sufficient basis to believe that there were weapons of mass destruction that were a danger to the world and the possibility of those weapons going to terrorists. And so, he undertook military action. I think that was the correct thing to do and it was well supported by the intelligence. I think we did not execute the operation well. Once Baghdad fell, there was a feeling that well that was the end of it. It was not the end of it. That was just the beginning of it.

Here's a little reminder about just what Powell knew and didn't know when he made that presentation to the United Nations: The U.N. Deception: What Exactly Colin Powell Knew Five Years Ago, and What He Told the World

DOWNLOADS: (67)

PLAYS: (187)

Embed

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus on Sunday insisted that "small brush fires" like former Gov. John Sununu's suggestion that former Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsed President Barack Obama because he's black were just distractions.

Speaking to CNN last week, Sununu wondered whether Powell's endorsement was "based on issues, or whether he’s got a slightly different reason for preferring President Obama."

"I think when you have somebody of your own race that you’re proud of being President of the United States, I applaud Colin for standing with him," the top Romney surrogate said.

But During a Sunday interview with CNN's Candy Crowley, Priebus dismissed Sununu's comment as a "distraction."

"You want people to be disciplined," the RNC chairman explained. "And obviously if people misspeak and they cause -- for no apparent reason -- small brush fires on their own, that's a distraction. But overall, this is still an election about the economy, about the president's failed broken promises and now we have this issue with Libya."

Crowley also asked Priebus if Republican Indiana Senate candidate Richard Mourdock's assertion that pregnancies from rape were "something that God intended to happen" hurt the GOP brand.

"I promise you, people out there are not talking about what Richard Mourdock said," Priebus replied.

DOWNLOADS: (100)

PLAYS: (463)

Embed

Former Chief of Staff to Colin Powell, Lawrence Wilkerson, didn't mince any words this Friday evening during an appearance on Ed Schultz's show, when asked what he thought about John Sununu going off the rails again and claiming that Powell only endorsed President Obama "because he's black."

Former Powell Chief of Staff: ‘My party is full of racists’:

Former Chief of Staff to Colin Powell, Col. Lawrence Wilkerson told Ed Schultz of MSNBC’s “The Ed Show” on Friday that the Republican Party is “full of racists,” and that the main reason most Republicans want President Barack Obama to lose the election to former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA) in November is because of the president’s race. [...]

“Let me just be candid,” Wilkerson said. “My party full of racists. And the real reason a considerable portion of my party wants President Obama out of the White House has nothing to do with the content of his character, nothing to do with his competence as Commander in Chief and President, and everything to do with the color of his skin. And that’s despicable.”

We've all known this since the Republicans aren't even trying to be subtle with their racism any more. They've gone from dog whistles to blow horns with their race baiting. It is nice to see them just straight up called out for it though, which happens all too rarely these days.

DOWNLOADS: (244)

PLAYS: (2007)

Embed

Leave it to good old John Sununu to say out loud what the rest of them only say in private. As a top surrogate for the Romney campaign they must have been thrilled to hear that. Here's what he said to Piers Morgan tonight on CNN.

SUNUNU: You have to wonder whether that’s an endorsement based on issues or that he’s got a slightly different reason for President Obama.

MORGAN: What reason would that be?

SUNUNU: Well, I think that when you have somebody of your own race that you’re proud of being President of the United States — I applaud Colin for standing with him.

DOWNLOADS: (642)

PLAYS: (12156)

Embed

From this Friday evening's Real Time with Bill Maher, Bill slams the Republicans for running away from all of the recent leaders of their party and recent presidential and vice-presidential nominees at this year's Republican National Convention in his New Rules segment.

And finally New Rule, Republicans don't have to accept evolution, economics, climatology or human sexuality, but I just watched a week of their national convention, and I need them to admit the historical existence of George W. Bush.

If your party can run the nation for eight years and then have a national convention and not invite Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Colin Powell, Karl Rove or Tom DeLay, you're not a political movement, you're the witness protection program.

In fact, Republicans, next time instead of holding a convention without your most recent president, your most recent vice-president, your most recent vice-presidential nominee and most of the runners up from your most recent primary, why not just wave one of those Men in Black memory eraser wands and say make us forget everything we know about you?

DOWNLOADS: (442)

PLAYS: (733)

Embed

As Think Progress noted, you can add former Secretary of State Colin Powell to the list of political figures who have followed President Obama's lead and come out in favor of marriage equality this week.

Powell appeared on CNN's the Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer this Wednesday and said he has "no problem with it" and did not see any reason that gay people should not be allowed to be married.

BLITZER: I remember you were chairman of the Joint Chiefs when you installed the "don't ask, don't tell" policy in the U.S. military that prevented gays from serving openly. I know you changed your attitudes over these years, but what about gay marriage? Are you with the president in supporting gay marriage?

POWELL: I have no problem with it and it was the Congress that imposed "don't ask, don't tell". It was certainly my position and my recommendation to get us out of an even worse outcome that could have occurred as you'll recall. But as I've thought about gay marriage I know a lot of friends who are individually gay, but are in partnerships with loved ones and they are stable a family as my family is and they raise children, and so I don't see any reason not to say that they shouldn't be able to get married under the laws of their state or the laws of the country however that turns out. It seems to be the laws of the state. There may be religious objections to it and I respect the fact that many denominations have different points of view with respect to gay marriage, and they can hold that in sanctity of their place of religion and not bless them or solemnize (ph) them.

But in terms of the legal matter of creating a contract between two people that's called marriage and allowing them to live together with the protection of law seems to me is the way we should be moving in this country. And so I support the president's decision, and I think most Americans increasingly understand that times have changed just like they change between gays in the military and while I was able to support removing that barrier to service. And so I hope everybody will just carefully look at this, and I understand the religious objections to it, but at the same --

(AUDIO GAP)

POWELL: -- diversity and change and my experience with many of my gay and lesbian friends is that they form unions as strong as any other unions I've seen and raise children that are good, strong children and are either heterosexual or homosexual, lesbian, depending on themselves, not because their parents happen to be.

DOWNLOADS: (725)

PLAYS: (8432)

Embed

While I'm no fan of former Secretary of State Colin Powell after the role he played with misleading our country into invading Iraq, I was glad to see someone finally take Sean Hannity to task for his obsession with Bill Ayers and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

Colin Powell Throws Wet Blanket On Hannity's Obsession With Rev. Wright And Bill Ayers:

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell tonight threw a wet blanket on Sean Hannity's longtime obsession with attacking President Obama over Reverend Jeremiah Wright and Bill Ayers.

During an interview with Powell on his Fox News show, Hannity said that he finds Obama to be "one of the most divisive figures in -- that I've witnessed in politics today."

Powell responded: "[T]hat's a term that's being used rather freely. I don't think he's that divisive an issue." Powell then asked, "What could have been more divisive than, when President Obama was inaugurated, for a number of Republicans, friends of mine, and a number of commentators to say, 'We're going to destroy him. We're going to destroy him'?"

Hannity replied: "I was one of his harshest critics. I wasn't out to destroy him." Hannity also asserted: "Well, I was critical about Bill Ayers and Reverend Wright." Powell responded: "I don't know Bill Ayers from the man in the moon. Bill Ayers and Reverend Wright are just passing things through [Obama's] life." Hannity then said that Obama spent "20 years" in Wright's church, to which Powell responded: "Well, so?"

Full transcript of that portion of Powell's interview below the fold.

Continue reading »