DOWNLOADS: (126)

PLAYS: (812)

Embed

Sen. Kelly Ayotte was once again asked by her constituents at a town hall meeting about her vote against the Manchin-Toomey background check legislation and her response this time around was to make stuff up:

Before saying anything about New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte, let's establish one thing: Although the Manchin-Toomey background check proposal would have expanded background checks for gun purchases, it wouldn't have created a national firearms registry. In fact, it would have strengthened existing law barring the creation of any such registry and stiffened penalties against any official who violated or tried to violate the prohibition.

With that said, check out Ayotte's explanation on Thursday afternoon for why she voted against expanded background checks:

I will tell you in terms of a universal background check, as it's been framed, I have a lot of concerns about that leading to a registry that will lead to a privacy situation for lawful firearms owners.

That's total bull. The text of the legislation would have explicitly prohibited the creation of a national gun registry in not one, not two, but three separate places. Read on...

Here's more from Steve Benen: The facts Ayotte doesn't want her constituents to know:

Continue reading »

DOWNLOADS: (129)

PLAYS: (597)

Embed

Heaven forbid we're ever going to see John McCain admit that there might just be a problem with the nativist base of his party -- that they've been whipping hatred in for years now over the immigration issue -- that McCain found himself confronted with at his recent series of town hall meetings.

McCain ‘Proud’ Of Debate At Town Hall Meeting:

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) on Sunday defended a confrontation with an angry voter at a town hall meeting over immigration reform, saying, "that's what town halls are supposed to be about -- that's why they're always packed."

"We don't screen anyone who comes to our town hall meetings," McCain said on CNN's "State of the Union." "Now I didn't believe that person was correct with his facts so I fired back at him. And people said, 'Good, that's what we want to hear, this is a debate we want to hear.' So I'm proud of that, and if anybody doesn't like it, then you don't have to come to the town hall meeting."

The tensions in McCain's town hall meeting provoked speculation about whether opposition from the conservative base of the GOP would make it impossible for lawmakers to reach a deal on immigration reform. McCain denied Sunday that this was the case.

She didn't ask him if he was also proud of calling one of his constituents a jerk or not.

Sadly no amount of bad behavior with holding up cabinet appointments out of spite or their fake Benghazi outrage is going to keep Senator Hothead from being given another appearance on the Sunday shows.

Here's your compassionate conservatism on full display, folks. I guess this shouldn't be surprising after the behavior we saw from the crowds at the Republican presidential primary debates. John McCain's recent string of town hall meetings just continues to show the very ugly side of today's Republican party.

Crowd Cheers After McCain Tells Aurora Victim’s Mother She Needs ‘Straight Talk’ (VIDEO):

Constituents at a town hall hosted by Sen. John McCain Wednesday in Phoenix cheered after the Arizona Republican told the mother of an Aurora, Colo. shooting victim that an assault weapons ban could not get through Congress.

Here's more from KTVK:

Border security was not the focus of the majority of questions asked by audience members at the standing-room-only event Wednesday. Instead, gun control became the primary issue.

At one point, the mother of Aurora movie shooting victim Alex Teves took the microphone.

“My 24-year-old son Alex was murdered in a movie theater in Colorado,” Caren Teves said. “These assault rifles allow the shooter to fire many rounds without having to re-load. These weapons do not belong on our streets.”

McCain responded by sympathizing with Teves, then addressing her call for a ban on assault rifles.

“I can tell you right now you need some straight talk. That assault weapons ban will not pass the Congress of the United States,” said Sen. McCain.

McCain said his plan to deal with mass shootings would protect Second Amendment rights.

“We are working together to try to come up with a package that would prevent guns from falling into the hands of criminals while at the same time preserving our Second Amendment rights,” he said.

Audience members also asked questions about impeaching President Obama, Benghazi, and immigration reform.

It couldn't happen to a nicer guy. Color me not shocked that the Republicans' xenophobia and constant demonizing of immigrants is coming back to bite John McCain in the rear end. McCain Jeered At Town Hall After Opposing Mass Deportation:

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) got an earful from his constituents in his home state while defending his bipartisan immigration plan at a town hall.

According to the Associated Press, an "angry crowd" reacted negatively as McCain described his proposal to grant a path to citizenship for many of the country's estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants. From their writeup:

“There are 11 million people living here illegally,” he said. “We are not going to get enough buses to deport them.”

Some audience members shouted out their disapproval.

One man yelled that only guns would discourage illegal immigration. Another man complained that illegal immigrants should never be able to become citizens or vote. A third man said illegal immigrants were illiterate invaders who wanted free government benefits.

McCain urged compassion. “We are a Judeo-Christian nation,” he said. McCain’s other town hall meeting took place in Green Valley, south of Tucson.

TPM has more here as well with some of the tweets from the local reporters who were covering the event: John McCain Questioned About Immigration In Arizona Townhall.

It appears Paul Ryan's constituents aren't buying his attempted reversal on his support of Ayn Rand's philosophy that Blue Texan wrote about here last month. The media never calls him out for any of his lies, so it's nice to at least see him getting an earful from the voters.

Paul Ryan Challenged By Town Hall Constituents Over Previous Praise Of Ayn Rand:

At a town hall meeting on Friday, Ryan was pressed by a constituent to explain this about-face. “Mr. Ryan, are you telling us that your political career was founded on the concepts of a rally of hers, but until recently, you never realized Ayn Rand was an outspoken atheist, that she felt altruism was evil, supported abortion, and condemned Christianity for advocating compassion for the poor?” the constituent asked.

Ryan professed no inconsistency in his views, arguing instead that “just because you like someone’s novels doesn’t mean you agree with their entire worldview philosophy.” He called the notion that he supports Rand’s views “a canard,” though still insisted that Atlas Shrugged is “a great book” that he recommends to those in his office.

CONSTITUENT: My question concerns your current and previous feelings toward the author and philosopher Ayn Rand. [...] Mr. Ryan, are you telling us that your political career was founded on the concepts of a rally of hers, but until recently, you never realized Ayn Rand was an outspoken atheist, that she felt altruism was evil, supported abortion, and condemned Christianity for advocating compassion for the poor?

RYAN: [...] Just because you like someone’s novels doesn’t mean you agree with their entire worldview philosophy. She has a worldview philosophy which is completely antithetical to mine because she has an atheist philosophy. [...] It’s really kind of a canard, is what I would say.

CONSTITUENT: You spoke as a keynote speaker for Ayn Rand banquets. You were quoted at length about how you loved her. You say you grew up and Ayn Rand taught you who you are and what your values are. I think we’ve learned the question of your honesty.

RYAN: It’s a great book! It’s a great book! Let’s go on to somebody over here, I think we’ve covered it pretty well. By the way, I don’t require it. I have a reading list. Lots of young people ask me what are good books. I give them Alexis de Tocqueville, I take the Founders, Friedman, Hayek, Atlas Shrugged. There are lots of good books worth reading if you want to study freedom, free enterprise, the Founders, economics. There are a lot of good books out there to read, it doesn’t mean that you subscribe to the person’s worldview and philosophy. That’s really kind of a stretch.

From MoveOn.org -- Dear Paul Ryan, I'd Like To Ask You A Question But I Don't Want To Be Arrested.

From their You Tube channel:

Rep. Paul Ryan's only August appearance is at this $15 a ticket "townhall", where he refuses to speak directly with his constituents--who are demanding real answers. Instead? He has them arrested. Call Rep. Ryan and tell him: That's not how we do things in America.

Apparently daring to ask Paul Ryan why he wants to destroy our social safety nets is a reason to get arrested in America these days. Here's his contact page and if you do call, be polite please but let him know how you feel about this.

Contact Paul

DOWNLOADS: (588)

PLAYS: (5897)

Embed

Keith Olbermann talked to the Huffington Post's Amanda Terkel about the tables being turned on these Republican members of Congress who just two years ago were urging their constituents to get out there and make their voices heard at local town hall meetings. Back then, it was these AstroTurf "tea partiers" out there screaming about the health care bill. Now as they discussed, the tables have been turned and Republicans are starting to get the message that their constituents aren't too happy with talks of privatizing and making cuts to Social Security and Medicare.

As they noted, Sen. Chuck Grassley just an earful at one of his recent town hall meetings -- Grassley, Who Is Pro-Privatization, Says He Knows Just ‘One Member Of Congress’ Who Wants To Privatize Social Security:

During a town hall in Carroll, Iowa last night, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) fielded question after question from constituents who were furious at Republican efforts to weaken Social Security. Midway through the event, one Iowan stood and told Grassley his personal story about retiring in 2008 just as the stock market cratered, decimating his IRA and 401k retirement plans.

He implored Grassley not to privatize Social Security, asking if he should expect “to live on whatever the stock market leaves me?” After the crowd gave the constituent loud applause, Grassley responded that he only knows of “one member out of 535 who wants to privatize Social Security.”

Grassley was also asked by a small business owner why Social Security taxes are capped at $106,800.

Sen. John Thune also seems to be getting the message on cuts to our social safety nets, but as Terkel pointed out, how members of Congress behave and vote when they return from vacation will tell us if they're actually paying attention to their constituents or not. Here's more on that from Think Progress as well: Thune: Top Message I Got From Town Halls Is ‘Don’t Cut My Social Security And Medicare’.

Continue reading »

No big surprise here, but it looks like we've got another Republican House member refusing to meet with constituents who are angry about their vote for the Ryan budget which would eliminate Medicare as we know it. Here's more from Show Me Progress on Missouri Rep. Todd Akin, who apparently is afraid of the group of primarily senior citizens who showed up outside of his office to protest earlier this week.

Todd Akin greets peaceful constituents. With cops.:

Eight cop cars. That's how many it took to quell the "riot" by 50 or so little old ladies and 50 others of assorted ages (and sexes) who tried to storm Representative Todd Akin's office in West St. Louis County Wednesday afternoon. [...]

Since Akin refuses ever to respond to requests from Democratic constituents asking for a meeting or a phone call, much less a town hall, these folks called their own town hall a block from his office and invited him to attend. [...]

He didn't show. Of course. So the crowd had the gall to approach his majesty's office and were told by the cops which little bright patch of sunlight they might occupy while they listened to a few speakers.

Why is it that peaceful people--and there were no weapons in this group more dangerous than a few rapier like wits--cannot even approach the office paid for by taxpayers without having the police--union workers that we taxpayers fund--sicced on them?

More there with lots of pictures of those very scary looking seniors that came out to protest. Republicans loved it when we had these "tea partiers" coming out to scream at Democrats over the health care bill. Now that the tables have turned and their approval numbers are at an all time low, they're not so thrilled with the idea of being held accountable to their constituents. You can't blame any of them for wanting to be cautious after what happened to Gabby Giffords, but I don't think that excuses them refusing to meet with or respond to voters at all.

It appears it's not only Pat Buchanan and the right-wing noise machine over at Fox who are delusional enough to pretend that if we just asked the rich more nicely, they might volunteer to pay higher taxes.

It was nice to see another one of these Republican Reps treated the way they deserve to be at their town hall meetings by their actual constituents, who are rightfully upset with the class warfare they're waging on the poor and middle class, instead of loads of screaming "tea partiers" being bused in by the Koch brothers and their rich buddies.

From Think Progress -- GOP Rep. Hultgren Draws Laughs At Town Hall With Plan To Beg, Not Require, Rich To Pay More Taxes:

Earlier this week, Rep. Randy Hultgren (R-IL) held a town hall in Sandwich, Illinois, where constituents angrily denounced his right-wing policies. During one particularly amusing moment, Hultgren tried to defend his stand against raising taxes on the wealthy, drawing a round of laughs from the audience.

“I’m not out there trying to coddle anybody,” he defensively claimed. He then went on to explain that, instead of raising taxes on the wealthy, Congress could adopt a bill that would allow the rich to make voluntary donations to the Treasury and have them count as charitable contributions:

HULTGREN: I’m not out there trying to coddle anybody. In fact, I support a bill that allows the super rich if they want to give more money to the federal government it could be a charitable contribution.

(audience laughs)

HULTGREN: I think that makes sense! Use it as a charitable contribution.

Looks like Paul Ryan's town hall meetings in Wisconsin aren't off to a great start. From Think Progress -- VIDEO: Paul Ryan Booed At Town Hall For Defending Tax Breaks For The Wealthy:

Earlier this week, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) embarked on a series of town halls across his southern Wisconsin congressional district. Ryan has gained notoriety in recent weeks as the architect of the Republican budget which extends tax breaks for the wealthy and phases out Medicare. House Republicans voted 235-4 in favor of the plan.

During a town hall meeting in Milton, a constituent who described himself as a “lifelong conservative” asked Ryan about the effects of growing income inequality in our nation. The constituent noted that huge income disparities contributed to the Great Depression and the Great Recession, and thus wanted to know why the congressman was “fighting to not let the tax breaks for the wealthy expire.”

Ryan argued against “redistribut[ing]” in this manner. After the constituent noted that “there’s nothing wrong with taxing the top because it does not trickle down,” Ryan argued that “we do tax the top.” This response earned a chorus of boos from constituents:

CONSTITUENT: The middle class is disappearing right now. During this time of prosperity, the top 1 percent was taking about 10 percent of the total annual income, but yet today we are fighting to not let the tax breaks for the wealthy expire? And we’re fighting to not raise the Social Security cap from $87,000? I think we’re wrong.

RYAN: A couple things. I don’t disagree with the premise of what you’re saying. The question is what’s the best way to do this. Is it to redistribute… (Crosstalk)

CONSTITUENT: You have to lower spending. But it’s a matter of there’s nothing wrong with taxing the top because it does not trickle down.

RYAN: We do tax the top. (Audience boos). Let’s remember, most of our jobs come from successful small businesses. Two-thirds of our jobs do. You got to remember, businesses pay taxes individually. So when you raise their tax rates to 44.8 percent, which is what the president is proposing, I would just fundamentally disagree. That is going to hurt job creation.