Had Reid held votes on comprehensive immigration reform before the election, Latinos might've had a better idea of who was fighting for them, and who was opposing them. Instead, Republicans got away, in many places, with claiming that Democrats broke their promises to Latino voters by not delivering on immigration reform. It's harder to make such bullshit arguments when you can point to the roll call vote showing Republicans standing en masse against fairness and opportunity.
Two months prior to Sammon's 2009 memo, Republican pollster Frank Luntz appeared on Sean Hannity's August 18 Fox News program. Luntz scolded Hannity for referring to the "public option" and encouraged Hannity to use "government option" instead. Luntz argued that "if you call it a 'public option,' the American people are split," but that "if you call it the 'government option,' the public is overwhelmingly against it." Luntz explained that the program would be "sponsored by the government" and falsely claimed that it would also be "paid for by the government."
Two months prior to Sammon's 2009 memo, Republican pollster Frank Luntz appeared on Sean Hannity's August 18 Fox News program. Luntz scolded Hannity for referring to the "public option" and encouraged Hannity to use "government option" instead.
Luntz argued that "if you call it a 'public option,' the American people are split," but that "if you call it the 'government option,' the public is overwhelmingly against it." Luntz explained that the program would be "sponsored by the government" and falsely claimed that it would also be "paid for by the government."
So what does a pretend news organization do?
Sammon sent an email to the staffs of Special Report, Fox News Sunday, and FoxNews.com, as well as to other reporters and producers at the network. The subject line read: "friendly reminder: let's not slip back into calling it the 'public option.' " Sammon instructed staff to refer on air to "government-run health insurance," the "government option," "the public option, which is the government-run plan," or -- when "necessary ... the so-called public option."
Sammon sent an email to the staffs of Special Report, Fox News Sunday, and FoxNews.com, as well as to other reporters and producers at the network. The subject line read: "friendly reminder: let's not slip back into calling it the 'public option.' "
Sammon instructed staff to refer on air to "government-run health insurance," the "government option," "the public option, which is the government-run plan," or -- when "necessary ... the so-called public option."
During his campaign to represent Wisconsin in the U.S. Senate, GOP nominee Ron Johnson accused Democratic incumbent Russell Feingold (D) of being "on the side of special interests and lobbyists." [...] But after defeating Feingold, Johnson himself has turned to K Street for help - hiring homeland security lobbyist Donald H. Kent Jr. as his chief of staff [...] In addition to Johnson, Sen.-elect Mike Lee (Utah) has announced that energy lobbyist Spencer Stokes will be his chief of staff. Tea party favorite Rand Paul (Ky.) has hired anti-union lobbyist Douglas Stafford as his top senatorial aide.
During his campaign to represent Wisconsin in the U.S. Senate, GOP nominee Ron Johnson accused Democratic incumbent Russell Feingold (D) of being "on the side of special interests and lobbyists." [...] But after defeating Feingold, Johnson himself has turned to K Street for help - hiring homeland security lobbyist Donald H. Kent Jr. as his chief of staff [...]
In addition to Johnson, Sen.-elect Mike Lee (Utah) has announced that energy lobbyist Spencer Stokes will be his chief of staff. Tea party favorite Rand Paul (Ky.) has hired anti-union lobbyist Douglas Stafford as his top senatorial aide.
Surprise!
Has any other President had a self-described “base” who hated him more? Has any other President had a “base” that was constantly attacking him?
Let's flip it -- has there ever been a President (and in particular, his team) so eager to tee off on his base? When your administration's top official calls the base "fucking retards", the base gets testy. As for the president, the only time he shows passion is when he's lecturing the base.
The irony, of course, is that the base (however you want to define that) is only asking that he deliver on campaign promises, or at least act like he's fighting for them. For Obama, that doesn't come easy.
But that's no reason to celebrate -- those Democratic Party activist elites voted in 2010. Rank and file Democrats did not. We're the canaries in the coal mine, pointing out that Democrats have destroyed intensity on our side. The 2010 results confirmed our worst fears. Shoot the messenger all you want, but the reality is that the (rank and file) base is no longer motivated to vote. And shit on the elites all you want, but they're the ones who did most of the heavy lifting in 2008 -- donating money, making phone calls, walking precincts, etc. They'll still vote for Obama, but without the boots on the ground, reelection becomes that much more difficult.
So spending the last two weeks doubling down on the loser "bipartisanship" strategy isn't the way to win in 2012.
Now, getting that [Hulk] tie was not an easy matter. We could not locate one for sale anywhere. I had found online the name of a collector who owned the tie, but tracking him down took some effort. Justin Murphy, one of my producers, scoured superhero chat rooms until he found the collector posting comments, not just about the Incredible Hulk, but also where he mentioned his home town. Not an easy thing to find. That allowed us to track down his phone number. After repeated phone messages, we finally connected with him and rented the tie for a few weeks. As I was traveling to Sitka, I double-checked my carryon so frequently, you would have thought I was carrying the gold briefcase in Pulp Fiction.
Several socially conservative organizations have threatened to boycott one of the largest gatherings of conservative activists of the year if a group of gay Republicans is allowed to serve as a participating organization at the event. Social conservatives, including the National Organization for Marriage among others, staged a walk-out at a meeting of board members of the Conservative Political Action Conference, according to multiple board members, to protest CPAC's decision to allow GOProud to join the event as more than just a vendor organization. Those groups put enough pressure on the American Conservative Union, which runs CPAC, that officials put GOProud's fate, along with that of the ultra-conservative John Birch Society, up for a vote. Results made available to board members on Wednesday showed the board voted to allow both groups to continue their affiliation with CPAC.
Several socially conservative organizations have threatened to boycott one of the largest gatherings of conservative activists of the year if a group of gay Republicans is allowed to serve as a participating organization at the event.
Social conservatives, including the National Organization for Marriage among others, staged a walk-out at a meeting of board members of the Conservative Political Action Conference, according to multiple board members, to protest CPAC's decision to allow GOProud to join the event as more than just a vendor organization.
Those groups put enough pressure on the American Conservative Union, which runs CPAC, that officials put GOProud's fate, along with that of the ultra-conservative John Birch Society, up for a vote. Results made available to board members on Wednesday showed the board voted to allow both groups to continue their affiliation with CPAC.