From BartCop:

All Obama has to say is, "I'll give you FOUR reasons to vote for Mitt Romney.
If you think more tax cuts to the rich will get us out of the ditch that
"more tax cuts for the rich" Bush drove us into, then vote for Mitt."

"If you think deregulating Wall Street will get us out of the ditch that
"deregulate Wall Street" Bush drove us into, then vote for Mitt."

"If you think the wealthiest Americans need more handouts from the government,
then vote for Mitt."

"If you think YOU should pay MORE in taxes than Chevron, GE, Bank of America,
Goldman Sachs, Exxon-Mobil and Carnival Cruise lines, then vote for Mitt."

Chupacabra Report

We heard another big idea from Newt Gingrich this week:

"By the end of my second term, we will have the first permanent base on the moon. And it will be American,"

"At one point early in my career I introduced the northwest ordinance for space and I said when we got -- I think the number is 13,000 -- when we have 13,000 Americans living on the moon they can petition to become a state,"

Well, an American state on the moon would clearly be in violation of the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, ratified by 100 countries, including the United States. But a second term in office for President Newt Gingrich is about the only thing more preposterous than the idea of President Newt Gingrich itself. Next to that, sending 13,000 people to the moon to establish the “State of Newton” or something is doable.

But the other GOP candidates weren’t buyin’ it. Romney said:
“I spent 25 years in business. If I had a business executive come to me and say they wanted to spend a few hundred billion dollars to put a colony on the moon, I’d say, ‘You’re fired!”
And he means it. He was just saying in New Hampshire that he likes being able to fire people.

The paper said Tom DeLay went on the radio and called Newt “erratic and undisciplined.” -That’s like ‘Pot; meet Kettle. And that party lights like Jeb Bush, Haley Barbour or Mitch Daniels would be circling the wagons around Romney.

I’ve also been hearing of speculation about which dark-horse candidate might arise from the sidelines.

This race might provide astonishing entertainment right through most of August.

How Obama's Long Game Will Outsmart His Critics

Found this piece on BartCop, Andrew Sullivan on The Daily Beast. Click on the title to see it, it's a good read; I think I'm down with this.

I always say that a good President is one who pisses off both sides. When I hear teabaggers going all apoplectic over Obama I have to smile because I know the left wing has been disappointed with him too. But we has to consider what he's done within the realm of the possible. Between the backstabbing blow-dog Democrats and the forty-seven vote GOP Senate majority, the President's hands have been tied. Sullivan says that Obama has always counted on serving two terms, and that granted re-election and adequate support in Congress his "show-don't-tell long game" will show results. He cites Politifact to say that of 508 campaign promises, one-third have been fulfilled and only two have not been acted on.

Most important, he says "the only way out of that deadlock is an electoral rout of the GOP." The next election is about more than the top of the ticket. Now, if the Supreme Court will kindly tell me what Congressional District I'm in before the next election..

Affirmative Action for Rick Perry

CNN announced last week that Rick Perry will be participating in their January 19th debate in South Carolina.

This despite CNN’s previously announced criteria for inclusion; that to be invited a candidate must have finished at least fourth in the Iowa or New Hampshire primaries, or polled at least 7% in three national or South Carolina polls in the month of January. Perry has met neither.

In light of this, maybe the State of Virginia will decide to allow Perry to appear on the primary ballot there, much as the State of Texas has allowed mentally handicapped persons to be executed.

CBS Airs Another Focus on the Family Ad

Those who yawned through Saturday’s playoff game between New England and Denver may have noticed an ad for Focus on the Family featuring cute toddlers reciting John 3:16, Tim Tebow’s signature Bible verse. This was another departure from CBS’s supposed policy of not airing advocacy ads.

In the past CBS has declined to air an ad from Move On.Org and another from The United Church of Christ that advocated inclusiveness. (“Jesus didn’t turn people away. Neither do we.”) But apparently they have no problem with tax-exempt Christian Right parachurch Focus on the Family.

Focus, founded by anti-gay crusader and would-be theocrat James Dobson, supported Mike Huckabee in the 2008 GOP race, then refused to support nominee McCain until Sarah Palin was added to the ticket.

Strange; Dobson was the last person to interview serial killer Ted Bundy before his execution, and sold thousands of copies of the tape. He was set to do the same with Jeffrey Dahlmer, but Dahlmer was killed in prison before Dobson could meet with him. Funny family values or what?

Maybe for the Superbowl, they could have the children come back and recite Matthew 6:5.

Paul campaign pulls in cash from military donors

GALVESTON, Texas (AP) — An Army reservist who spoke up for Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul while in uniform — and landed in trouble for it — is just one of the soldiers getting behind the Texas congressman's campaign.

Plenty of other troops simply send Paul some campaign cash.

Paul is the only Republican who says he'll bring home nearly all U.S. forces if elected, and that could be helping him draw in dollars.

Paul received at least $95,567 from military donors between January and September of last year, the most recent data available, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. That's nearly seven times what Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum, who edged out Paul in Iowa, collected from military donors combined.

Retired Army Sgt. Thomas Rutherford, whose campaign contribution of $201 hit the threshold for public disclosure under federal election law, believes soldiers started taking a closer look at Paul's opposition to U.S. intervention after experiencing it firsthand.

"He has the firmest grasp on foreign policy of all of them," said Rutherford, 36. "I used to think we're the biggest, best country in the world and we have to go over there and show them how to do it. In the military, I came to the conclusion that the best way how to do it wasn't to use the Army."

Cpl. Jesse Thorsen, who gushed that it was "like meeting a rock star" when he joined Paul on stage wearing his camouflaged fatigues in Iowa this week. That ran afoul of Defense Department rules involving partisan political events, though the military doesn't prohibit soldiers from giving money to candidates.

Thorsen became Paul's best-known supporter in uniform after appearing on the podium at the campaign's Iowa headquarters Tuesday night.

"We don't need to be picking fights overseas and I think everybody knows that, too," he said to loud applause.

Thorsen later told The Associated Press that he believes many troops support Paul.

"A lot more than you would think, absolutely," he said. "And, I think one thing that would help is more people need to stop voting for what they think is best for their party and start voting for what they think is best for their country."

Military rules prohibit soldiers from expressing opinions about candidates while in uniform. Thorsen has stopped giving interviews to news media.

A spokeswoman for the Army Reserve, Maj. Angel Wallace, said Friday that Thorsen's company commander plans to meet with him in coming days to discuss his appearance with Paul while in uniform and to decide whether disciplinary action is required.


Soldiers throwing money behind Paul isn't new. The former Air Force surgeon is one of two veterans in this year's GOP field, along with Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who also served in the Air Force. Paul raised more money from military donors in his 2008 presidential run than his rivals in that campaign.

Between January and September, Romney raised $13,300 and Santorum $750 among donors who listed a military affiliation as their employer. Newt Gingrich had $4,900. Paul also outpaced military donations made to President Barack Obama, who had $72,616.

In Williamson County, vandals are leaving reminders on John Bradley's yard signs of the District Attorney's role delaying Michael Morton's exoneration by opposing DNA testing of a bloody bandana for years on end.

-found on Grits for Breakfast