THE NATION: It has become, for liberals and leftists enraged by the way Republicans never suffer the consequences for turning electoral politics into a cesspool, a kind of smoking gun. The late, legendarily brutal campaign consultant Lee Atwater explains how Republicans can win the vote of racists without sounding racist themselves: You start out in 1954 by saying, “Nigger, nigger, nigger.” By 1968 you can’t say “nigger”—that hurts you, backfires. So you say stuff like, uh, forced busing, states’ rights, and all that stuff, and you’re getting so abstract. Now, you’re talking about cutting taxes, and all these things you’re […]
DO THE RIGHT THING: Sign The ‘Dump Trump’ Petition
[Illustration by ALEX FINE] Macy’s has a special deal with Donald Trump. They invest in developing Trump’s brand and sell his clothing line and fragrance at their locations. To this end, they have had major events at Macy’s Herald Square location and they often feature and promote Trump in advertisements designed to celebrate the magic of Macy’s. Recently, Macy’s CEO Terry Lundgren sent Donald Trump a letter touting how excited Macy’s was to be working with Trump and promising to expand Trump’s brand even further than it already is. But, why is Macy’s celebrating Trump? Donald Trump engages in especially […]
THE NAKED AND THE DEAD: The 5 Important Questions The Media Should Be Asking Petraeus But Won’t
BY JONATHAN VALANIA FOR THE PHILLY POST Somebody’s got to say it: The media has been asking all the wrong questions about the unfolding Peyton Place-like Petraeus saga. As I type this the FBI is raiding Paula Broadwell’s home and it’s been revealed that the just-appointed Supreme Allied Commander of NATO is under investigation for “inappropriate communications” with Jill Kelly, the local girl made good who dragged this whole sad story out into the light when she told the FBI that she was being cyber-harassed by Broadwell — so stay tuned. But I’m willing to bet Mitt Romney $10,000 that […]
The Sins Of Gen. Petraeus & The Military-Media Complex
Illustration by WILLIAM BANZAI7 EDITOR’S NOTE: THE FOLLOWING IS AN EXCERPT FROM A JUST-PUBLISHED BUZZFEED PIECE BY MICHAEL HASTINGS, THE NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER WHO WROTE THE RUNAWAY GENERAL, THE ROLLING STONE PIECE THAT TOOK DOWN GENERAL STANLEY MCCHRYSTAL BUZZFEED: The warning signs about Petreaus’s core dishonesty have been around for years. A brief summary: we can start with the persistent questions critics have raised about his Bronze Star for Valor. Or, that in 2004, during the middle of a presidential election, Petraeus wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post, supporting President Bush and saying that the Iraq policy was working. […]
STUPID IS AS STUPID DOES: ‘Don’t Get All Potted Up’
These assclowns have never let not knowing what they are talking about stop them from doing so at length. Every day. Day after day. Here’s some pearls of wisdom on the news that Colorado voters passed a referendum last Tuesday that legalizes recreational marijuana use.
BREAKING: Barack Obama Re-Elected
We’re ready for the first black president to become the second black president, the one we voted for in 2008 — a change agent, a prince of peace, a transformational figure around which the arclight of history bends. NATE SILVER: Democrats maintained an edge in party identification, allowing Mr. Obama to win despite losing independent voters by several points. Forty-five percent of those who voted for Mr. Obama were racial minorities, a record number, and he made gains among Hispanic and Asian-American voters. Mr. Obama’s win carried forth into most of the swing states. Of the 10 states that […]
ENDORSEMENT: The Case For 4 More Years
BY WILLIAM C. HENRY Okay, I’ll come clean. Obama has been my leader of choice from the get-go and nothing whatsoever I’ve heard from or about the other guy has so much as twitched the needle on my partiality meter. I will, however, admit to an atom of admiration for Romney’s extraordinary chameleon-like ability to change his stance on any given issue to suit the exigency at hand. It’s a talent even a squid could envy. But I digress. Most significantly, I hold unwaveringly to the belief that Barak is simply more concerned about more of us. I continue […]
VOTER GUIDE: Throw The Bums Out
BY MIKE WALSH In the big picture, the Democrats and the Republicans are just two different sock puppets on the same rich man’s hand. Elections will change nothing until the swamp of de facto bribery that is our current campaign contribution model is drained and elections are publicly financed. Only then will elected officials be responsive to the will of the electorate instead of the corporate paymasters that put them in office. Likewise, this country will continue to slide into a Second World Power until the two party stranglehold is broken and elections are opened up to the marketplace of […]
Top Ten Big Fat Lies of the Romney/Ryan Campaign
Artwork via SMEAR CAMPAIGN BY MIKE WALSH Romney and Ryan have lied their way through this campaign season so brazenly, effortlessly, and unabashedly, it’s tough to identify their top 10 lies, but let’s give it a shot: 10. Romney bragged during the debates that he worked in a bi-partisan manner with the Democrats who controlled the Massachusetts state house while he was governor of that state. Oh really!? It has since come to light that Romney defines bipartisanship as 800 vetoes by Romney, 750 of which were overridden by the state legislature. That’s not bipartisanship, that’s partisan warfare. 9. That […]
HECKUVA JOB, ROMNEY: Mitt Vowed To Dismantle FEMA, Called Federal Disaster Relief ‘Simply Immoral’
NEW YORKER: At a CNN debate in June, 2011, the moderator John King engaged the candidates in a discussion about the role of government. When he got to Romney, the exchange went like this: KING: What else, Governor Romney? You’ve been a chief executive of a state. I was just in Joplin, Missouri. I’ve been in Mississippi and Louisiana and Tennessee and other communities dealing with whether it’s the tornadoes, the flooding, and worse. FEMAis about to run out of money, and there are some people who say do it on a case-by-case basis and some people who say, you […]
OHIO STATE OF MIND: Bowzer & Me Save Democracy
EDITOR’S NOTE: Matt Goldfine has been working in Philadelphia and Harrisburg politics for the last five years. Tired of fretting over the polls from afar, he drove out to Ohio on Sunday to volunteer for the Obama campaign’s get-out-the-vote drive. He will be filing regular dispatches from Ohio up to election night BY MATT GOLDFINE As I drove through downtown Cleveland this morning, an eerie fog clouded the tops of skyscrapers off in the distance. All the streetlights were all out and the ordinarily bustling sidewalks were empty. I got a text message that the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party HQ, […]
WHAT’S HE HIDING: Trump Refuses To Show The Guardian His College Transcript And Passport Records
Illustration by DON COKER THE GUARDIAN: Donald Trump’s big “announcement” dropped Wednesday, when the real estate mogul offered $5 million for President Barack Obama to reveal his college transcripts and passport application. Trump, however, refuses to show his own records. The Guardian’s Adam Gabbatt contacted Trump’s office on Wednesday to ask for Trump’s college transcripts and passport records, to which an executive at the company responded that the newspaper’s request was “stupid.” MORE NMA WORLD EDITION: Donald Trump’s big Twitter announcement was basically a Dr. Evil-esque threat to the President. YAWN! It doesn’t seem that anyone was impressed with the […]
TEA PARTY SENATE CANDIDATE: Pregnancy Resulting From Rape ‘Is Something That God Intended To Happen’
CHICAGO TRIBUNE: Indiana GOP Senate candidate Richard Mourdock opposes abortion even in the case of rape and incest, he said at a Tuesday night debate, because pregnancy from rape is “something that God intended to happen.” Mourdock, who is in a tight race with Democratic Rep. Joe Donnelly, was responding to a question about whether abortion should be legal in cases of rape or incest. “I know there are some who disagree, and I respect their point of view, but I believe that life begins at conception,” the tea party-backed Mourdock said. “The only exception I have, to have an […]