Sooner Blue

Associated Press: "Are Republican lawmakers deliberately stalling the economic recovery to hurt President Barack Obama's re-election chances?."

No big surprise to me - hell, I took them at their word when right from the 2010 gitgo Republican leader Mitch McConnell stood up in the Senate and said that making President Obama a one-term president would be his party’s top priority in the new Congress .. that it would be "the single most important thing we want to achieve." Not rebuilding the economy .. not creating jobs .. not putting America's agenda before theirs.

The GOP House would not even vote on the American Jobs Act .. a bill containing proposals that had bipartisan support. They almost deliberately caused a debt default and two potential government shutdowns .. which sure played hell with the economy.

BTW - they are threatening the very same thing with their debt ceiling talk this week.

They are not advancing a jobs agenda because they have no jobs agenda .. so they can take that phony talk about advancing their economic agenda and hawk it somewhere else .. that dog don't hunt here .. we know better.

Democratic agenda -- getting Americans educated and back to work at jobs that will allow them to become, remain, or rise above middle class.

Republican agenda -- balance their budget on the backs of the old, the sick and the poor by defunding government services relied upon by millions of middle class Americans .. but giving tax cuts to the highest earners.

Taxes are lower now than they were in 2008 ...

If I wanted America to fail, I would lower taxes to the point that the government could no longer pay its bills and could no longer afford to invest in its future.

Jimmy Kimmel told Howard Stern a joke he decided not to use at the White House Correspondents' Dinner -- "I had some jokes about -- like Rick Santorum. I said something like -- well, I didn't say it, but: Newt Gingrich's campaign is so dead Mitt Romney wants to baptize it and Rick Santorum wants to put it in a jar and show it to his kids."

Good decision .. it's clever and all, but to refer to a dead child .. crass and tasteless.

But the interesting thing is -- how bizarre that the, uh, personal belief system of these two men even allowed Kimmel to construct such a joke.

Hey, you never know with righties -- the Santorums thought it was perfectly okay to let their kids see their stillborn sibling .. and Barbara Bush apparently thought it was fine to let her son see her miscarried fetus, which she kept in a jar.

Who am I to judge?

Jeffrey Toobin has an interesting piece about how Chief Justice John Roberts orchestrated the Citizens United decision to remove campaign finance limits so that rich corporations could have the same "free speech" as a person.

" When the Court announced its final ruling on Citizens United, on January 21, 2010, the vote was five to four and the majority opinion was written by Anthony Kennedy. ...the result represented a triumph for Chief Justice [John] Roberts... As American politics assumes its new form in the post-Citizens United era, the credit or the blame goes mostly to him. ... The Roberts Court, it appears, will guarantee moneyed interests the freedom to raise and spend any amount, from any source, at any time, in order to win elections."

Sure didn't take John Roberts long to secure his place in history as the one of the crappiest Supreme Court Justices Ever .. the Citizens United decision will go down in history as weakening our democracy.

If you accept two premises, that money is speech .. so, if you have more money than me, you have more speech than I do .. and that corporations are people, having the same rights as a person, then Citizens United makes sense.

To me, it only makes sense in a state owned by corporations.

The five Republican-appointed Supremes (Roberts, Alito, Kennedy, Scalia, Thomas) knew exactly what they were doing when they saddled America with their Citizens United ruling.

One thing they didn't figure on was how the long drawn-out 2012 Republican primaries would expose just how dang corrupt unlimited corporate, and individual billionaire, campaign donations would be. They probably didn't dream how much obscenely wealthy Republicans would use their wealth to trash and smear other Republicans.

But, don't hold your breath waiting for the five right-wing Supremes to reverse their corrupting decision .. all those state and local races, and the ones for Capitol Hill seats, are going to need boatloads of Citizens United cash for unlimited smear ads against any Democrats (or Independents) daring to get in the way.

The only way SCOTUS will kill Citizens United -- when Democrats start outraising the Republicans in SuperPac fundraising.

If only ...

... and finally gave us that gay rights pony we'd been whining about ...

Andrew Sullivan said it best - "Today Obama did more than make a logical step. He let go of fear. He is clearly prepared to let the political chips fall as they may. That's why we elected him. That's the change we believed in. ..."

If you read my blog yesterday, what can I say? I guess I was born cynical because I had a list of reasons a mile long for President Obama NOT to announce to the nation that he favors marriage equality. But does he listen to me?

I still think Obama's 'coming out' will make his road to a second term even bumpier .. I can already see Karl Rove using all that Super-Pac money to make TV commercials trying to bury Barack Obama.

This is exactly the spit-flecked social issue that Righties want to jump on to distract voters from the fact that Republicans step on the backs of the working class to give billionaires tax breaks, and have no real plan for jobs, etc.

Ah well, the more they bellow and bray about Obama's "war on marriage," the less they yak about the slow economy .. while Obama talks about jobs, income inequality, student loans, etc.

My fellow Americans, this is leadership .. President Obama has taken a stand that threatens his re-election .. he came through at a time when Gay Americans really need it, telling them he's on their side, that they matter.

It would have been easier to continue to Romney around with evasive answers .. but there he was, making history, declaring himself as aligned against bigotry .. which is always the right answer.

To those whiners who say he shoulda spoken out a day earlier, before North Carolina’s Amendment One passed - which banned not only same-sex marriages but unions and partnerships - I say balderdash, the vote in NC was never going to be influenced in any meaningful way by a statement from Obama.

Obama had already backed same-sex marriage as much as he could at the federal level .. the tenth amendment has individual states write the marriage rules .. not the President or Congress.

He's smart to get this out of the way so far ahead of the elections, so that it can be old news by then .. he avoids all the endless questions and silly evasions. When you're running against the nation’s most infamous political waffler, you don’t want to look like a waffler yourself.

Okay, it's done now .. in the short run we wait to see how the nation feels after the dust settles.

In the long run we just sit back and wait for the rest of the country to catch up to us equality-happy progressives - and the polls show it's happening slowly but surely. We'll wait for states to start rolling back their anti-gay amendments, which will allow their lesbian daughters and gay sons to live near their families, where they were born, where they grew up, instead of fleeing to coastal states and urban centers.

My conservative friend said that Obama's current position on marriage equality is purely political. I said, well duh .. he's a politician isn't he?

I know why the president teeters on the fence, he needs every vote he can get .. right now any negative flack over this issue would lose him votes, which is exactly why the Righties are pushing it, pushing it .. which isn't too smart if they'd stop and think a moment - because the more stink they raise, the more it will force Romney and the Republicans to take a position on a difficult social issue. A real minus for them would be independent and moderate voters watching Romney kiss radical Tea Party ass .. right on top of him having to fire his Gay campaign advisor last week too.

Obama's coalition of Democrats, black voters, women, Hispanics and urban voters are all intact -- and in favor of gay marriage -- but swing voters, especially suburban voters, are still split.

So now I'm wondering if President Roadrunner is scammin' the Acme Tool Co. Righties again .. having Biden Big Mouth say something about approving gay marriage, you know, so it's out there .. which will get the so-called liberal media (ha ha) all riled up, hounding the President's press secretary .. one of reporters actually fainted and slid to the floor at the White House presser.

Anyway, President Obama doesn't have to say anything more, only have Sec'y Carney repeat his "evolving" talking points. This will nudge Obama's position forward while seeming to walk it back .. his message is clear and he can deflect until December.

I believe Obama's heart's in the right place, and the only evolving he has done is into a presidential candidate trying to win a 2nd term...

Wake up whining Lefties - if Obama doesn't attain enough electoral votes, the rights of ALL Americans won't just go on the back burner .. they'll go up in flames.

If Obama endorses equality it would alienate some culturally conservative Democrats .. look what happened in NC last night .. the unfortunate reality is that a big segment of the population is backward thinking .. such a move would also herd more disgruntled anti-Mormon evangelicals Romney's way ...

I know, I know, it sucks, because marriage equality is an important issue.. but we don't get further along down the road by making it a referendum on the candidate. We know dang well which candidate signed a Rightie pledge against gay marriage. Can we leave it at that until after November?

A new Reuters/Ipsos poll shows that Obama has a national lead over Romney by seven points, 49% to 42%, "due to increased support from independent voters and more optimism about the U.S. economy."

Pissing people off and giving fear mongers a soap box isn't the way to play this .. we must continue to hold our cards close to the vest and bluff.

If being honest and going by the book were the only important factors in the game of politics, Jimmy Carter would be #1 on every list of great presidents.

Here's a new twist on a old story -- remember back in 2010 when Bill Johnson (R), the "family values" anti-gay candidate ran for governor in Alabama? He lost .. and next thing we knew he's donating sperm to childless lesbian couples in New Zealand.

Now the Birmingham News reports that Johnson has left his wife and family "to be with babies he secretly conceived as a sperm donor in New Zealand."

His wife told the New Zealand Herald that Johnson "plans to apply for residency so he can stay in New Zealand, and that he intends to donate sperm to additional women. ... He is obsessed with this. He doesn't want to stop."

Why couldn't he just do his "donating" in the airport Men's room or Public Park Restroom like a normal Republican?

Seriously, isn't this supposed to be a mortal sin? "Every sperm is sacred."

These "anti-gay candidates" always turn out to be pretty interesting folk, don't they?

A politician obsessed with donating his sperm .. can you just imagine the Fox Newsgasm if it were a Democrat trying to clone himself via sperm donations like some modern day Mengele? Or - God forbid - a black man?

Who knows - he might be delighted to live a new life free of the rigidity of his party, state, and upbringing that have handcuffed him for all these years. After all, Republicans would have a constitutional amendment against sperm donations if they could.

"Bill Johnson - He's Pulling For You."

Sorry .. this stuff writes itself.

"This week Mitt Romney's Super PAC put out a new ad that tries to ridicule Obama because he was singing Al Green. Let that be a lesson to you aspiring politicians. If you must sing on the campaign trail, make it 'America the Beautiful,' off key, in mom jeans." –Bill Maher

"Mitt Romney swept five more primaries. There was a big Mormon celebration afterward. People were drinking apple juice and eating animal crackers until nearly 9 p.m." –Bill Maher

"It looks like the Republicans are going back to the strategy of 2008 where Obama is characterized as a celebrity. Says the party who is gay for Ronald Reagan. Come on, you can't worship Ronald Reagan and then attack Obama for being a celebrity. That's like running Chris Christie and saying Obama has a fat ass." –Bill Maher

"Romney is going to have to pick a vice president and apparently it is between Chris Christie and the senator from Florida, Marco Rubio. So it’s between a Cuban American and a cubic American." –Bill Maher

"Some people say that Mitt should balance the ticket by picking someone who has taken all of the opposite positions of him, like himself." –Bill Maher

"Mitt Romney trying to compete for the youth vote told some kids that some of the places he hides his money are the same places they go to spring break." –Bill Maher

"Is there any force in government that is just so completely focused on screwing people, besides the Secret Service?" –Bill Maher, on Republicans

"Now allegations are coming out that the Secret Service were partying with strippers and hookers, not just in Colombia but in El Salvador, Buenos Aires, Moscow. You got to hand it to these guys. A lot of us look at the world and say, 'Screw it.' These people actually do it." –Bill Maher

"Newt Gingrich says he's going to make an announcement on Tuesday that he's suspending his presidential campaign. Yes, he's letting us down gently. And also because technicians are still working on Callista to install her sad face." –Bill Maher

"New Rule: If the Indians have a rocket that works, but the North Koreans don't, we have to stop being scared of North Korea and start being scared of India. Now, you may ask, why would the Indians launch a missile at us? Well, as Sarah Palin points out we did steal their land." –Bill Maher

"New Rule: Let's follow Canada, and get rid of the penny. It costs more to make than it's worth. And we don't need another copper-colored reminder that government is a useless, stupid boondoggle. We already have John Boehner." –Bill Maher

The President poked fun at himself and cracked jokes about everyone from Mitt Romney to the Secret Service at the 2012 White House Correspondents' Dinner.

Here are some of Obama's best jokes of the night:

"My fellow Americans, we gather during a historic anniversary. Last year at this time, in fact on this very weekend, we finally delivered justice to one of the world's most notorious individuals." (An unflattering photo of Donald Trump showed on the screen.)

"Despite many obstacles, much has changed during my time in office. Four years ago, I was locked in a brutal primary battle with Hillary Clinton. Four years later, she won't stop drunk-texting me from Cartagena."

"It's great to be here this evening in the vast, magnificent Hilton ballroom -- or what Mitt Romney would call a little fixer-upper."

"I mean, look at this party. We've got men in tuxes, women in gowns, fine wine, first-class entertainment. I was just relieved to learn this was not a GSA conference."

"Now, some have said I blame too many problems on my predecessor, but let's not forget that's a practice that was initiated by George W. Bush."

"The White House Correspondents' Dinner is known as the prom of Washington D.C. -- a term coined by political reporters who clearly never had the chance to go to an actual prom."

"Even Sarah Palin is getting back into the game, guest hosting on The Today Show -- which reminds me of an old saying: What's the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? A pit bull is delicious."

"As my stepfather always told me, 'It's a boy-eat-dog world out there.'"

On Romney: "We both have degrees from Harvard. I have one, he has two. What a snob."

"Recently, [Romney's] campaign criticized me for slow-jamming the news with Jimmy Fallon. In fact, I understand Governor Romney was so incensed he asked his staff if he could get some equal time on 'The Merv Griffin Show.'"

"In my first term, we passed health care reform. In my second term, I guess I'll pass it again."

"Our chaperone for the evening is Jimmy Kimmel ... Jimmy got his start years ago on The Man Show. In Washington, that's what we call a congressional hearing on contraception."

"I really do enjoy attending these dinners. In fact, I had a lot more material prepared, but I have to get the Secret Service home in time for their new curfew."

... exit stage too far right

Our long national Book Tour is finally over. Goodbye Newt and your bloated ego .. goodbye Callista (not Flockhart) and good luck with that Tiffany monkey on your back, what with that massive $4 million debt you guys ran up executing a non-campaign campaign

Newt Gingrich finally made a rambling farewell speech .. I didn't listen to it all, but he thanked his billionaire, did a boring recap of his lifetime achievements, quoted someone who said his best days are ahead (yeah, right) .. yet he really didn't say much about supporting Mitt Romney .. other than the inspirational statement that any Republican was better than Obama.

All this is bittersweet for me .. Newt was good for giggles .. but I don't think he'll be back .. this campaign shed too much light on his pissy little ego and his batshit crazy Big Ideas .. hiring poor kids as janitors, colonies on the Moon ...

Pulling the curtain back on the Great and Powerful Newt of Oz to reveal a bumbling little con man is kind of satisfying .. though it might put a crimp in his highly profitable direct mail grift. But then, the people who were laying down $20 for his CDs about scary Muslims aren’t the brightest bulbs in the chandelier .. so they may not have noticed.

Can too much schadenfreude kill you?

A new Pew Research poll finds the public becoming more and more unhappy with the Supreme Court, which has reached a quarter-century low in favorability ratings.

Just wait until they destroy Health Care Reform with a 5-4 vote .. and in the process toss out the other reforms that are now helping millions of working-class Americans. Let's see how much the American populace likes the Supremes then.

"Unlike evaluations over much of the past decade, there is very little partisan divide. The court receives relatively low favorable ratings from Republicans, Democrats and independents alike. ...

... In April 2009, soon after Barack Obama took office, 70% of Republicans, 63% of Democrats, and 64% of independents held a favorable opinion of the court. ..."

This is what you get when you pack the judicial branch with partisan hacks who are supposed to defend the people against corporate interests .. I ain't too happy with the lower courts, either, and for the same reason.

Beats hell outta me why Republicans don't like the Supreme Court .. after all, it handed them George W. Bush on a silver platter .. also the Citizens United decision, which declared that corporations had the same rights as an individual person, and allowed unlimited corporate spending in elections.

Then too, maybe the Republican disaffection coincides with President Obama's two female appointments ...

"Wicked smart," Mr. President .. and here's the thing about being cool and taking the high road - when you need to drop a couple of boulders, gravity is your friend.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-may-1-2012/victory-lapse

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-may-1-2012/victory-lapse---the-anniversary-of-osama-bin-laden-s-death

"Okla. court halts 'personhood' rights for embryos"

The Oklahoma Supreme Court unanimously ruled that a ballot measure to completely prohibit abortion was "clearly unconstitutional."

"Apr 30, 2012, OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Monday halted an effort to grant "personhood" rights to human embryos, saying the measure is unconstitutional.

[O]pponents contend the measure would ban abortions without exception and interfere with a woman's right to use certain forms of contraception and medical procedures, such as in vitro fertilization. ...[..]"

Hey, those judges must have gotten an earful from the women in their families ...

Told ya - Republican attacks on women's rights only ignite their ire and determination to rise up and fight - again - for reproductive rights. Women of both parties - and even the church can't control them, because 98% of all Catholic women of child bearing age use contraceptives - that's why it's rare to see families with 13 children sitting in pews.

Republican anti-abortion zealots want to grant personhood to a fertilized egg, a little blob of jelly, and to hell with the legal rights of a living breathing fully-formed woman.

Since Teavangelicals took over the House after the 2010 elections there's been 111 bills introduced to do away with women's healthcare rights.

These Tea Partyers were elected because they were angry about money .. spending too much, big government, the deficit, blah blah. But look what we ended up with - social issues - they took us back almost 50 years. Again we’re fighting for women’s reproductive rights. Vaginal probes are smaller government?!

Well then there now .. between the Oklahoma Supreme Court and Elizabeth Warren, it makes it a bit more difficult to pretend that all we Okies are backwards redneck idiots.

Hopefully, soon I can throw away this joke:

"What's the difference between a fertilized egg, a corporation, and a woman?

One of them isn't considered a person in Oklahoma." - Kristen Schaal on The Daily Show.

And tah dah! - another piece of good news on the same day .. more war-on-women legislation struck down:

When Gov. Rick Perry moved to withdraw federal funds from Planned Parenthood, causing many clinics to close, PP sued .. then Texas Republicans began strangling funds by other budgetary means, causing dozens of non-PP locations to shut down.

Well sir, this little Texan war on women was just smacked down by Judge Lee Yeakel in Austin .. preserving Medicaid Women’s Health Program funding for PP clinics across the state, making sure that over 130,000 lower income women will continue to receive healthcare services, cancer screening, etc., until the full trial gets underway this summer .

Allow me make this perfectly clear. Everyone thinks it's all about abortion, it isn't - abortions account for only 3 percent of Planned Parenthood's activities. Without clinics for breast cancer and cervical cancer screening, these low income women will be diagnosed too late .. and the care that's available will be located too far from their homes .. and they will die needlessly.

Then there's the birth control pills, which do much more than prevent pregnancy .. they are used to shrink ovarian cysts, etc.

I swear .. with the unprecedented amount of sheer insanity pervading our politics and discourse these days, rulings like these are like a long cool drink of water after crossing a desert.