From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE…
Quotable Charlotte: Part I
Hand-cut and slathered in zesty freedom barbeque sauce for good eatin':
"Today’s Republican Party believes in two sets of rules: one for millionaires and billionaires, and another for the middle class. And this year, they’ve nominated the strongest proponent---and clearest beneficiary---of this rigged game: Mitt Romney. Never in modern American history has a presidential candidate tried so hard to hide himself from the people he hopes to serve."
---Harry Reid
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"If Mitt was Santa Claus, he'd fire the reindeer and outsource the elves."
---Fmr. OH Gov. Ted Strickland
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"What's missing from the Romney-Ryan plan for Medicare is Medicare."
---HHS Sec. Kathleen Sebelius
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"Women still earn just 77 cents for every dollar men make. Those pennies add up to real money. … Maybe 23 cents doesn't sound like a lot to someone with a Swiss bank account, Cayman Island Investments and an IRA worth tens of millions of dollars. But Governor Romney, when we lose 23 cents every hour, every day, every paycheck, every job, over our entire lives, what we lose can't just be measured in dollars."
---Lilly Ledbetter
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"Tonight I want to talk to you about a scary subject for many, many Republicans. I want to talk about facts."
---Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn
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"Facts are facts: No president since Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the Great Depression inherited a worse economy, bigger job losses or deeper problems from his predecessor. But President Obama is moving America forward, not back."
---MD Gov. Martin O'Malley
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"There was no blueprint or how-to manual for fixing a global financial meltdown, an auto crisis, two wars and a great recession, all at the same time. Believe me, if it existed, I would have found it. Each crisis was so deep and so dangerous; any one of them would have defined another presidency. We faced a once-in-a-generation moment in American history. Fortunately for all of us, we have a once-in-a-generation president."
---Rahm Emanuel
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"My fellow Democrats, my fellow Texans, my fellow Americans: I stand before you tonight as a young American, a proud American, of a generation born as the Cold War receded, shaped by the tragedy of 9/11, connected by the digital revolution and determined to re-elect the man who will make the 21st century another American century---President Barack Obama!"
---San Antonia Mayor Julian Castro
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"I’ve worked on a lot of fun movies, but my favorite job was having a boss who gave the order to take out bin Laden---and who’s cool with all of us getting gay-married. Thank you, invisible man in the chair, for that, and for giving my friends access to affordable health insurance and doubling funding for the Pell grant."
---Kal Penn
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"Last week, Mitt Romney had a chance to show his support for the brave men and women he is seeking to command. But he chose to criticize President Obama instead of even uttering the word "Afghanistan." Barack Obama will never ignore our troops."
---Tammy Duckworth
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"Republicans mocked our desire to heal the planet, but we will heal it for Republicans too, and we will create jobs for Republicans too."
---Rep. Jared Polis (CO)
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"My message is this: it is time for Democrats to grow a backbone and stand up for what we believe! Quit waiting for pundits or polls or Super PACs to tell us who the next President or senator or congressman will be! We are Americans! We shape our own future!"
---Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick
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"If farmers and blacksmiths could win independence from an empire...if immigrants could leave behind everything they knew for a better life on our shores...if women could be dragged to jail for seeking the vote...if a generation could defeat a depression, and define greatness for all time...if a young preacher could lift us to the mountaintop with his righteous dream...and if proud Americans can be who they are and boldly stand at the altar with who they love...then surely, surely we can give everyone in this country a fair chance at that great American Dream. Because in the end, more than anything else, that is the story of this country: the story of unwavering hope grounded in unyielding struggle."
---Michelle Obama
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"I'm Craig Robinson, Michelle Obama's big brother, father of four and head coach of Oregon State University's men's basketball team. Any seven-footers out there, gimme a call!"
---Craig Robinson
Hey, call Paul Ryan. I hear he thinks he's 8-foot ten.
Cheers and Jeers starts below the fold... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]
Cheers and Jeers for Thursday, September 6, 2012
Note: You’re wearing white after Labor Day. The fashion police have been texted.
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By the Numbers:
Months 'til election day: 2
Days 'til the Warrens Cranberry Festival in Wisconsin: 22
Percent of the virtual schools run by Jeb Bush's K12, Inc. that passed federally-mandated yearly progress goals: 28%
Percent of public schools that passed comparable goals: 52%
(Source: The Maine Sunday Telegram)
Rise in the Dow Industrials, S&P and Nasdaq, respectively, in August: 0.8%, 2%, 4%
(Source: AP)
Percent of the (romney) campaign's tweets that attack President Obama: 21%
Percent of the Obama campaign's tweets that attack (romney): 4%
(Source: 140elect)
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Your Thursday Molly Ivins Moment:
We can now safely assert that W. has stacked much of the federal government with people like himself. And what you get when you put people in charge of government who don't believe in government and who are not interested in running it well is ... what happened after Hurricane Katrina.
Many a time in the past six years I have bit my tongue so I wouldn't annoy people with the always obnoxious observation, "I told you so." But, dammit all to hell, I did tell you, and I've been telling you since 1994, and I am so sick of this man and everything he represents -- all the sleazy, smug, self-righteous graft and corruption and "Christian" moralizing and cynicism and tax cuts for all his smug, rich buddies.
Next time I tell you someone from Texas should not be president of the United States, please pay attention.
---September, 2005
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Puppy Pic of the Day (via BeadLady): The water is wide…so I hitched a ride.
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"Waiter! Couple 'o beers!"
CHEERS to Night 2. The longer this Democratic convention goes on, the more it makes the Republican hootenanny look like a bunch of six year olds eating Play-doh in a treehouse. Sandra Fluke took apart Rush and Republican misogynists in Congress. Elizabeth Warren took apart Wall Street and the middle-class dismantlers in Congress. And Bill Clinton took apart the tea party and Karl Rove's Super PAC (even naming names) by refocusing the Obama presidency through a precision-crafted rhetorical lens that oughtta be the one used between now and election day. As if that wasn't enough, Obama came out afterwards for a photo-op that probably caused a whole bunch of Republicans to resign themselves to the horror of four more years with the Kenyan Arab Muslim Socialist who wants to steal all their bullets, throw Grandma in the woodchipper, and make Bill Ayers Viceroy of Anarchy. So, to answer your question: that's why I'm laughing.
CHEERS to Night 3! This is it, kids. The final night before Gallup announces the 20-point Democratic bounce. First, from the Scranton suburb of Delaware...weighing in at give-or-take 180 pounds: Joe "Scrappy Pappy Mad Dog Ham Bone Unleash Him and Turn Him Loose" Biden! [Aroooooo!!!] And then the skinny black guy with the funny name…weighing in a give or take 180 pounds (I suck at weight-guessing, can you tell) and ready to uncork the Eau d' Whupass when you least expect it: President Barack…Hussein…Obama!!! [Raaaahrrr!!!] For those of you who can't stand the sight of blood, we recommend The Weather Channel.
JEERS to President Perv. P. Pervert. On September 6, 2004, President Bush said:
"We got an issue in America. Too many good docs are gettin' out of business. Too many OBGYNs aren't able to practice their love with women all across this country."
Keith Olbermann's two-word reaction
is still priceless. We gotta get that boy another gig.
CHEERS to putting your ink where your mouth is. For the first time in the history of the United States of America, this is officially in a major party platform, and no I'm not gonna tell you which one because I suspect you can guess:
Thumbs-up!
Freedom to Marry. We support the right of all families to have equal respect, responsibilities, and protections under the law. We support marriage equality and support the movement to secure equal treatment under law for same-sex couples. We also support the freedom of churches and religious entities to decide how to administer marriage as a religious sacrament without government interference.
I don’t know what surprises me more: that gay marriage made it into the document so easily this year, or that the response from the other side has been mostly a big shrug. The only conservatives you'll hear complaining about it are the religious zealots who people look at more as flim-flam weasels out to scare their dwindling flock into coughing up donations to keep the Lavender Horde at bay (read: help Reverend Huckster make another mortgage payment on his beach house). Now, um…would it be too early to talk about adding a "free gay ATM" plank in 2016? Pretty please?
CHEERS to making the world a better place, one tiara at a time. On this date 91 years ago, in 1921, the first Miss America Pageant was held at Atlantic City. It was originally a cheap ploy to keep tourists in town longer after Labor Day, but it quickly evolved into a very expensive ploy to keep tourists in town longer after Labor Day. They're now using it as a slightly-less-expensive ploy to keep tourists in town longer after Labor Day by holding it in Las Vegas in January. Brilliant! As usual, whoever's talent includes tap dancing with sparklers gets my vote.
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And just one more…
"Poink!"
CHEERS to Great Moments in Stinkola. A rare
corpse flower bloomed for the first time over the weekend at the University of Rhode Island. Everyone was excited. They say it only puts on a show like that once every four years, and when it does it looks impressive but smells like death. Republicans say they plan to sue the plant for stealing their act without permission.
Have a great Thursday! Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?
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Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial:
“Of all the fictions we heard last week in Tampa, the one I find most troubling is this: If we all just go Bill in Portland Maine's way, our nation will be stronger for it.”
---Julian Castro
9/4/12
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