In a stunning break with First Amendment policy on Capitol Hill, House Republicans directed Capitol Hill police to detain a highly regarded documentary crew that was attempting to film a Wednesday hearing on a controversial natural gas procurement practice. Republicans also denied the entrance of a credentialed ABC News news team that was attempting to…
Tag: gop
GOP played Keystone card, lost
If you missed the press conference after the State Department announcement that the Keystone XL pipeline had been canceled, you missed a heck of a show. House Speaker John Boehner was mad. And the Republican lawmakers behind him were furious. Over and over, Boehner and the gang asked angrily “What happened?” knowing full well that…
Perrys standing diminished in Texas
Rick Perry had fallen so far by the end of his Presidential campaign that its not even clear he could have defeated Barack Obama in Texas. Our poll of the state last weekend found Perry leading Obama just 48-47, including a 51-44 deficit with independents. Perry had led Obama by 7 points on a September…
Mitt Romney’s Big Obama Jobs Lie
At the Fox News/Wall Street Journal debate Monday night in South Carolina, GOP presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney made a breathtakingly bogus claim about President Obama’s jobs record. “We have a president in office three years,” Romney claimed, “and he does not have a jobs plan yet.” Romney is either suffering from selective amnesia or is trying…
Romney’s Father Was Illegal Mexican Immigrant
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney may be in the lead in the Palmetto state, but that doesn’t mean South Carolinians necessarily like him. During a Fox News debate at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center on Monday, the Republican audience booed loudly after being told that Romney’s father was born in Mexico. In a report last…
GOP Candidate Passed Off ‘Home Economics’ Degree As ‘Economics’ Degree
Missouri gubernatorial candidate Dave Spence liked to tout his “economics” degree on his website and at campaign events — but in reality his degree was less about bookkeeping and more about housekeeping. Until Thursday, Spence (R) had claimed on his campaign website that he “earned a degree in Economics” from the University of Missouri (screenshot…
GOP Candidates Double Down on Race Card
Speaking to a crowd at New Hampshire on Thursday, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich suggested that African Americans would rather collect food stamps than find employment. “I will go to the NAACP convention, and tell the African-American community why they should demand paychecks instead of food stamps,” he said, according to Slate journalist Dave Weigel….
Three More Recess Appointments
Doubling down on President Barack Obama’s bold recess appointment of Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the White House announced Wednesday that Obama would also use his recess powers to fill three vacancies on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the federal agency charged with enforcing labor law. The move is sure…
McConnell on Payroll Tax: “We can and should do both.”
Here’s his statement: “The House and Senate have both passed bipartisan bills to require the President to quickly make a decision on whether to support thousands of U.S. manufacturing jobs through the Keystone XL pipeline, and to extend unemployment insurance, the temporary payroll tax cut and seniors’ access to medical care. There is no reason…
New Poll Suggests Latino Voters See ‘Hostile’ GOP
The survey of 500 Latino registered voters found that Hispanics continue to lean toward President Obama and other Democratic candidates, and that they feel alienated by Republicans because of their general support for tougher immigration enforcement instead of a path to legal status. Forty-six percent of Latino voters said Republicans “don’t care too much” about…
Wisconsin Gov. Wants Protesters To Pay For Security
Yesterday, the Walker administration took a step that is likely to antagonize protesters further. His administration enacted new regulations that would require permits to protest at the Capitol and other state buildings. The controversial part is that the bill allows officials to charge groups for the security and clean-up costs of such events. The Milwaukee…
Arizona Supreme Court Overturns Gov. Jan Brewer’s Removal Of Redistricting Chair
The Arizona Supreme Court dealt Republican Gov. Jan Brewer a blow Thursday, overturning her decision to oust the chairwoman of the state’s independent redistricting commission. The Arizona Republic reported that the court found that Brewer’s removal of Colleen Coyle Mathis did not meet state constitution guidelines. Brewer removed Mathis on Nov. 2, with…
Senate Halts GOP Bid To Repeal ‘Net Neutrality’ Rules
Senate Democrats on Thursday turned back a Republican attempt to repeal federal rules designed to prevent Internet service providers from discriminating against those who send content and other services over their networks. Republicans argued that “net neutrality” rules announced by the Federal Communications Commission last December were another example of federal regulatory overreach that would…
Stimulus-Hating GOP Rep. Frank Guinta Cuts Ribbon For Stimulus Project
With Recovery Act funding running out, that old TPM favorite — the anti-stimulus Republican who takes credit for stimulus funding in their district — is becoming somewhat of a rarity. But Rep. Frank Guinta (R-NH) kicked it old school on Thursday by cutting the ribbon on a new road that received millions from…
Occupy Nashville vs. GOP confrontation turns into love fest
Hey, you socialist hippie weirdos! Hey, you boot-heel-licking fascist twerps! Group hug! That was essentially the vibe in Nashville on Thursday night, as a rare rash of love broke out across the political divide between Occupy Nashville protesters and a conservative counter-protesting group. Jeff Woods, a writer with the Nashville Scene newspaper, reports that…
Republicans in the House have averaged a vote every day to undermine the EPA
They have picked up the pace recently — just last week they voted to stop the EPAs efforts to limit mercury and other hazardous pollutants from cement plants, boilers and incinerators — and it appears their campaign will continue for the foreseeable future.Using the economy as cover, and repeating unfounded claims that “regulations…
GOP Contenders Hold ‘Raucous’ Debate In Vegas
The reviews are in about last night’s CNN Republican presidential debate in Las Vegas and the consensus seems to be that it was a slugfest in Sin City: — “The near-weekly ritual of Republican presidential debates took a raucous turn Tuesday night as the unsettled field of candidates ganged up on one another…
Blacks reject Cain for good reason
Cain evinces no recognition of the Founding Fathers’ role in erecting a cruel pigmentocracy that continues to poison virtually every aspect of American political, social and cultural life. This is not an abstruse or academic matter. The president nominates federal judges. An important theory of constitutional interpretation vying for ascendancy is originalism: the…
Poll: Americans Overwhelmingly Support First Piece Of Obama Jobs Plan To Prevent Teacher, Firefighter Layoffs
Last week, two Senate Democrats joined Senate Republicans to filubuster President Obama’s jobs plan, even though analysts have found that it could add 1.9 million jobs next year. Now, Democratic lawmakers have decided to introduce Obama’s plan piece-by-piece, beginning with Obama’s $35 billion aid package “to help state and local governments provide funding…
The jobs debate on Earth 2
“Republicans,” McCain said on Earth 2, “have a better idea than more tax cuts and government spending. The economy isn’t growing because households are buried under mortgage debt. So we propose to attack the problem at the source. On the advice of Harvard’s Martin Feldstein, we are introducing legislation that would empower the…