Quote of the Day

"... the explanation you get from people in the White House, people around the President, [is] that there's no way he could have led on that because his proposals become instantly toxic."

That's journalist Dan Balz on MSNBC this morning. The "that" he's talking about is the Simpson-Bowles commission created by President Obama to address policies and look for fiscal solutions to help long term financial sustainability.

The reason the Obama administration hasn't moved on or promoted Simpson-Bowles, despite the fact that it still sits on the White House website, is because Republican intransigence has made it virtually impossible for the President to take any stand, make any comment, decision or proposal on any policy issues without getting immediate and unanimous pushback from the opposition party.

The reason is obvious, as stated by Sen. Mitch McConnell.

“The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.”

That includes blocking any nominations, blocking any votes on the floor through filibuster or placement of anonymous holds, and your general obstructionist shenanigans to make it seem like the Obama administration can't get anything done, even though contrary to popular belief, this administration has been one of the most prolific in decades.

Who else agrees with Dan Balz? Former Republican Senator Alan Simpson. And here's his reasoning:

"Co-chairman Alan Simpson, a former Republican senator from Wyoming, said it was 'the saddest thing' to see 'no' votes from senators who had fought for the congressional commission for years. 'What was the purpose of that?' he asked at a bipartisan forum Sunday with several dozen governors. 'As far as I can discern, it was to stick it to the president.'"

Correct, Mr. Simpson. 100% correct.

This isn't to infer that the drastic cuts in the commission are the only way to go, but instead to point out that no matter what the President does, he will encounter fierce opposition from the Republican Party solely for the purpose of electoral defeat in 2012, regardless of the consequences it causes the country.

(Cross-posted on ABLC)

Quote of the Day

"You can pretty much put their campaign on a tweet and have some characters to spare."

~President Obama on the GOP's campaign tactic for this presidential election.

Quote of the Day

"I guess I'm known as a RINO now, which means a Republican in name only, because, I guess, of social views, perhaps, or common sense would be another one, which seems to escape members of our party. For heaven’s sake, you have Grover Norquist wandering the earth in his white robes saying that if you raise taxes one penny, he’ll defeat you. He can’t murder you. He can’t burn your house. The only thing he can do to you, as an elected official, is defeat you for reelection. And if that means more to you than your country when we need patriots to come out in a situation when we’re in extremity, you shouldn’t even be in Congress." 

~Former Sen. Alan Simpson (R-Wyo.)

Quote of the Day

"Oh, Tim, if you’re looking for someone who’s never changed any positions on any policies, then I’m not your guy." 

~Mitt Romney to Tim Russert, on Meet the Press in 2007

Well, no shit, Sherlock. Mitt Romney has taken changing policy positions, AKA flip-flopping in his case, to an art form.

This quote was unearthed by Think Progress in regards to the resignation of openly gay policy advisor Richard Grenell, affirming at the time that Romney doesn't think it's the job of the federal government to protect workers from being fired based on sexual orientation. Based on the recent caving to the evangelical right on the Grenell affair, it seems this is one of the few policy issues on which he hasn't flip-flopped.

No Mitt, you're not my guy.

Quote of the Day

“Six months before this thing got going, every Republican I know was saying, ‘We’re gonna win, we’re gonna beat Obama.’ Now even those who’ve endorsed Romney say, ‘My God, what a fucking mess.’”

~Republican strategist Ed Rollins

(Via Bob Cesca)

Quote of the Day

Here's another Ted Sorensen quote to stick in your back pocket the next time someone uses the right wing "class warfare" jab, from "Why I Am A Democrat."

"Democrats have no wish to turn millionaires into paupers. Indeed, they do not object to the rich getting richer, particularly when their creative talents, energetic efforts, and sound investments enlarge the national pie for everyone to share... What Democrats dislike is the rich getting richer at the expense of everyone else, particularly those whose labor in helping to enlarge the pie but who receive a smaller piece in return."

Read this book!

Quote of the Day

"I think there's a lot to be said for keeping your own counsel. You can't buy it back. You can't buy your privacy back. 'Ooh, I want to be alone. 'Fuck you. We've been in your living room. We were at your birth. You filmed it for us and showed us the placenta, and now you want some privacy?'

It is a career; I'm not being cynical. And why wouldn't you? Look at the Kardashians, they're worth millions. Millions! I don't think they were that badly off to begin with, but now look at them. You see that and you think, 'What, you mean all I have to do is behave like a fucking idiot on television and then you'll pay me millions?'"

~Actor Daniel Craig

Quote of the Day

"It is unconscionable that in the face of mass unemployment, Republicans continue to foil measures to spur employment, including an extension of the payroll tax holiday. How can conservatives declare simultaneously that (1) it would be a terrible crime to raise taxes on the rich in the long term, and (2) it is an act of virtue to raise taxes on the middle class immediately? Has class warfare ever been so naked?"

~E.J. Dionne, Washington Post

And there you have it. Simply explained and easy for everyone to understand despite the bristling of GOP mouthpieces projecting that it is the Democrats who are waging class warfare because they'd like to tax the wealthiest of the 1% an extra point or two.

Quote of the Day

"[The Supercommittee] was never gonna succeed in doing anything for one simple reason and one simple reason alone: Republicans just don't give a fuck. If you believe, as Republicans do, that it's better to cut Medicare and Medicaid and Social Security and education and the environment and food safety than to raise taxes a little on the rich, then you don't give a fuck. If you believe that a compromise that gives you nearly every cut you want but still raises taxes just a smidgen is a capitulation to liberal/socialist/satanic goals, then you not only don't give a fuck, you are a sociopath."

~The Rude Pundit

Quote of the Day

“Just a quick note about Grover Norquist. If Grover Norquist is now the most powerful man in America, he should run for president. There’s no question about his power. And let me tell you, he has people in thrall. That’s a terrible phrase. Lincoln used it. It means your mind has been captured. You’re in bondage with a soul.

So here he is. I asked him. He said, ‘My hero is Ronald Reagan.’ I said, ‘Well, he raised taxes 11 times in his eight years.’ And he said, ‘I know. I didn’t like that at all.’ I said, ‘Well, he did it. Why do you suppose?’ He said, ‘I don’t know. Very disappointing.’ I said, ‘He probably did it to make the country run, another sick idea.’”

~Retired Sen. Alan Simpson (R-WY) lambasting Supercommittee Republicans for the deadlock they are causing by refusing to consider serious tax revenue increases with only three weeks remaining until they hit their deadline.

Quote of the Day

"I reject the idea that asking a hedge fund manager to pay the same tax rate as a plumber or a teacher is class warfare. I think it’s just the right the thing to do...

This is not class warfare, it's math...

I will not support - I WILL NOT SUPPORT any plan that puts all the burden for closing our deficit on ordinary Americans. And I will veto any bill that changes benefits for those who rely on Medicare but not does raise serious revenues by asking the wealthiest Americans or biggest corporations to pay their fair share."

~President Obama in his speech on his plan to reduce the deficit by raising $1.5 trillion in revenue from top earners.

Quote of the Day

"He puts the 'goober' in 'gubernatorial.'"

~Former Texas Agriculture Commissioner and radio host Jim Hightower on Rick Perry's record as Governor of Texas during an interview with Thom Hartmann

Quote of the Day

“Instead of doing everything he can to help Virginians and people on the East Coast recover from the loss of life and property that Irene dealt over the weekend, Cantor is parading around on Fox News talking about how he will hold federal aid hostage unless he gets to slash the budget. Anyone willing to play political games while people are suffering is unfit to be a congressman.”

~David Mills, executive director of the Democratic Party of Virginia.

Quote of the Day

"I think the obligation to avoid a catastrophe is a mutual obligation. Right now the Republican party is being blackmailed by a segment, which may be a strong segment, within the Republican party, but which does not represent the national will. The Tea Party does not speak for the majority of Americans. And yet the argument that's being made is, 'Unless you go along with us 100%, we're going to let the country rock.'"

~Zbigniew Brzezinski on MSNBC's Morning Joe, responding to a ridiculous statement by Pat Buchanan that no matter what is presented to the President as the debt ceiling proposal, default is all on him and therefore he cannot veto it.

In fact, it was so ridiculous, I'll transcribe what previously transpired:

PB: Dr. Brzezinski, whether we call it intransigence or a principled position, the Republicans aren't going to agree to tax increases and Harry Reid has apparently accepted that as has Boehner, and so there won't be any tax increases. When the debt ceiling, as it will be I believe, is sent down to the President of the United States with three or four days, or two days before the perceived default, he pretty much has to sign that rather than really drop the financial situation of the world into a crisis, does he not?

ZB: Well I'm not sure that's the right definition of the problem. There may be no tax increases but we certainly have a problem with very significant loopholes for people who are extraordinarily rich and some of whom have made a lot of money in recent years largely by speculating, not by contributing to national wealth, but by managing the financial system in such a fashion that they could clean up to degrees which are just unimaginable to most people.  I find it very difficult...

PB: Alright, but he's not he's not gonna get that through...

ZB: ...to imagine that these loopholes are not going to be closed.

PB: ...Well, they're not going to be. I don't believe...

ZB: And I can't see the Republicans arguing that that's fair.

Here comes the kicker:

PB: Well, look it may not be fair, but they're not gonna get 'em closed, they're not even in the Reid bill. The President in my judgment cannot veto a debt ceiling increase when, as he said himself, the potential on the other side we are risking a catastrophe. He can't do that even if he's defeated, can he?

And that lead to the quote of the day.


UPDATE: Here's the video. Worth watching.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Quote of the Day

You need to pass a test to become a citizen. You need to pass a test to drive a fucking car or to benefit from higher education. But any slawjawed shit-kicker with a pulse and questionably intact gray matter can become a member of Congress.

~Bob Cesca

Quote of the Day

If the debt ceiling talks fail, independents voters will see that Democrats were willing to compromise but Republicans were not. If responsible Republicans don’t take control, independents will conclude that Republican fanaticism caused this default. They will conclude that Republicans are not fit to govern.

And they will be right.

~David Brooks, July 4th, 2011 New York Times Op-Ed

When a dyed in the wool conservative like David Brooks can see the writing on the wall, you know that the GOP is in trouble.

Democrats can not cave to a debt ceiling deal with absolutely no revenue increases.

Quote of the Day

"Like a drunk swearing off hooch for the hundredth time, Republicans are now trying to show they are serious about controlling the deficit by saying they won't raise the debt ceiling...

Raising the debt ceiling isn't, as the GOP tries to say, Congress giving itself permission to continue excessive spending: It's something that's necessary to pay for past congressional decisions on taxes and spending, and those decisions were made primarily when Republicans were in charge."

~Retired Republican Congressional Staffer Mike Lofgren

(H/T GottaLaff)

Quote of the Day

Many politicians, of all political parties, make mistakes in speeches. That would certainly include the President and, even more certainly, the Vice-President.

But what they all tend to have in common is that, once the mistake is brought to their attention, they apologize for their error and set the record straight...

Sarah Palin, on the other hand, likes to double-down and dig the hole deeper. Not only does she not apologize for mistakes, she drags it out by defending the errors and encouraging her followers to do the same. She knows that her people believe pretty much anything she says so accuracy is not a high priority to her.

If this is acceptable to you –fine.

Personally, I would prefer our supposed leaders expose the public to actual history rather than the version that suits their political message.

~Rick Ungar's message to the Palin apologists who are twisting themselves in knots trying to justify Sarah Palin's Paul Revere idiocy, including editing the Paul Revere Wikipedia page.

Quote of the Day

Republicans have a very different idea about the nature of the process. They see an alternative trade-off — the GOP will accept spending cuts, and in exchange, they won’t deliberately destroy the economy.

Dems are willing to accept concessions to strike a deal. Republicans are willing to not shoot their hostage in the head in exchange for Dems giving the GOP what it wants.

The former is an example of a party negotiating in good faith. The latter is an example of reckless thugs pretending to be a political party.

~ Steve Benen

Needless to say, he's exactly right about this. And this mindset has permeated the GOP psyche to the point that Republican Majority House Whip Eric Cantor insists on withholding financial assistance to tornado ravaged Joplin, Missouri unless there are spending cuts somewhere else.

What would the right have screeched if a Democratic member of Congress insisted on withholding funds to New Orleans in the shadow of Hurricane Katrina because it jibes with his ideology with no compassion for those involved? You know, a George W. Bush type fly-over.

Quote of the Day

"...what this default talk looks like is that the GOP wants a crisis, not a deal. A deal would involve real pain for real voters: Medicare reductions, farm spending reductions, military reductions, and revenue measures. A crisis creates an exciting substitute for such a deal – especially if the GOP can temporarily and delusively convince itself that it can pin the blame for the crisis on President Obama. That will not be true. The whole world will see that the crisis was avoidable, and will see who insisted on forcing it. And however high you imagine the financial and political price – it will be higher."

~David Frum on Republicans playing political games with the debt ceiling