House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Thursday called on Republican House leadership to take up legislation recently introduced by Rep. George Miller (D-CA) and Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) that would raise the federal minimum wage above $10 an hour. Miller and Harkin announced the bill, which would set the minimum wage at $10.10 per hour and index it to inflation so it raised automatically thereafter, this week.
Pelosi cited recent stock gains that pushed markets to record highs even as worker incomes remain stagnant as her reason for backing the legislation, The Hill reports:
“This week, we saw something quite remarkable, the stock market soaring to record heights. At the same time, we see productivity keeping pace,” Pelosi told reporters in the Capitol. “But we don’t see income for America’s middle class rising. In fact, it’s been about the same as since the end of the Clinton years.” [...]
“If we are going to honor our commitment to the middle class,” she said, “we have to reflect that intention in our public policy.”
Raising the minimum wage to $10.10 would bring it in line with its historical borrowing power, which peaked in 1968, and indexing it to inflation would prevent Congress from having to repeatedly raise it to keep up with rising costs. The current wage would be $10.40 had it been indexed to inflation in 1968.
Top Republicans have already signaled their opposition to any increase in the minimum wage, even though 65 Republicans currently serving in Congress voted for the last increase, which was signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2007.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said that Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) was "projecting" his own failures when he claimed that President Obama won't cut spending because he is too weak to stand up to the liberal wing of his party.
"I don’t understand that because he’s a gentleman, the speaker is," Pelosi said in an interviewwith CNN published Wednesday. "But that remark was -- I mean, it was almost as if he was projecting onto the president his lack of being able to pass any bill that created jobs since he became speaker."
CNN's Chris Cuomo clarified: "You think the speaker is projecting onto the president his own failure?"
"Exactly," Pelosi said. "Because he hasn't been able to deal with his own party. There isn't anything that he passed that we haven't' delivered the votes for him that has been job-creating."
President Obama predicted Thursday that if Democrats pursue an ambitious agenda, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will soon have the speaker’s gavel back.
“It won’t be smooth, it won’t be simple, there will be frustrations, there will be times when you guys will be mad at me, and I’ll occasionally read about it.” he said. But if they keep focused, he said, ”I would expect that Nancy Pelosi is going to be speaker again pretty soon.”
But the president also appeared to be steeling House Democrats — who are more liberal than their Senate counterparts — for the need to remain open to concessions to moderate Democrats and Republicans not as eager to engage on the two domestic issues likely to dominate his State of the Union address next week — immigration and gun-control.
Obama spoke at a midday session at the annual House Democratic policy retreat, held at the tony Lansdowne Resort outside Leesburg. He addressed the group from his presidential podium in a large ballroom as lawmakers sat at round tables in casual dress.
Joking that he “just made a pretty long speech a couple of weeks ago and I’m about to make another one next week and I don’t want you guys tired of me,” Obama appeared to be testing out broad themes that may find their way into next week’s State of the Union address.
On immigration, Obama said the issue is “a top priority and an early priority,” but that he understands “that in some places this may end up being a tough issue.”
“But what I also know is that part of our strength is our youth and our dynamism and our history of attracting talent from all over the world.”
He earned his biggest applause, however, when he turned to gun-control, an issue of special concern to House Democrats, who represent mostly urban and suburban areas affected by mass shootings and urban gang violence.
“Again there are regional differences here, and we should respect those,” he said. “Guns mean something different for somebody who grew up on a farm in a rural community and someone who grew up in the inner city. There are different realities that we have to respect, but what we know that the majority of gun owners recognize that we cannot have a situation in which 20 more of our children or 100 more of our children or 1,000 more of our children are shot and killed in a senseless fashion. And that there are some commonsense steps we can take in building consensus. We cannot shy away from taking those steps.”
Obama began his remarks by saying he was “humbled” by the election results and the opportunity to recalibrate his focus over the next four years.
“I’m prepared, eager and anxious to do a big deal, a big package that ends this governance by crisis, where every three weeks or every two months or every six months we are threatening this hard-won recovery,” Obama said. “I want to do something big to provide certainty and steadiness for the economy and for American families.”
Obama also took the opportunity to once again criticize Republicans for focusing too much on finding ways to cut government spending without supporting more revenue through eliminating tax loopholes that benefit wealthier Americans or large corporations.
“I have to tell you, if that’s an argument they want to have before the court of public opinion, that’s an argument I’m more than willing to engage in,” Obama said.
The president spoke the day after Vice President Biden addressed the group and focused most of his remarks on gun-control proposals. Former president Bill Clinton is scheduled to meet with the group behind closed doors on Friday morning.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will remain atop the Democratic caucus for at least two more years, extending her role as Congress’s most vocal liberal voice opposing the Republican agenda despite a second straight election in which her party failed to win back the majority.
She said she felt compelled to remain in leadership as Congress and President Obama embark on an effort to resolve a fiscal crisis that could jeopardize core government programs. And she vowed to work to limit the role of money in politics and to empower women in the workplace and the political arena.
“Being active in politics at this level is really insatiable,” Pelosi, 72, said, recounting a conversation she had with her brother explaining why she wants to stay on. “What I said to him was, ‘There’s not enough hours in the day for me. There’s so much more I want to do.’ ”
Technically, Pelosi must win a vote in leadership elections that are slated for after Thanksgiving in order to retain her position as head of the caucus. That victory is a certainty, according to Democrats.
Pelosi informed House Democrats of her decision at private meeting, surrounded by nearly 40 members of her party who were victorious in elections last week. She announced it to reporters a short time later.
“The message is clear from the American people. They want us to work together to get things done. And that’s what these folks are here to do. Just like all of you,” Pelosi said during the caucus meeting, according to the notes taken a Democrat in the room. “We may not have the gavel, but as I can see in this room, we have the unity.”
The only woman to ever lead a congressional party caucus, Pelosi’s fate had been unclear since last Tuesday’s election left Democrats at least 17 seats short of the majority, following the GOP rout two years ago that ended her four-year run as the first female House speaker.
She spent the last week talking to Democratic lawmakers and her family and friends about her future plans, never quite revealing to any of them what her intentions were. Senior aides who have worked for her for years left the Capitol Tuesday night unsure of Pelosi’s decision.
Among national Democratic leaders, Pelosi has become the most prominent defender of entitlement programs such as Medicare. In the weeks and months ahead, congressional leaders and President Obama will try tonegotiate a massive debt deal that could include drawing savings out of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, as well as raising more revenue through an overhaul of the tax code that would eliminate many special exemptions.
The last attempt at such a deal, between Obama and House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) in the summer of 2011, caused deep anxiety among Democrats, as Obama crossed lines that many liberals would not have supported.
Pelosi at that time played the role of staunch protector of entitlements, but also was coy in terms of whether there were some reforms she could support. If a deal is to emerge in the near term, Pelosi’s imprimatur would go a long way to assuring that a large bloc of Democrats would back it.
The weakest moment ever in Pelosi’s decade-long tenure as Democratic leader came after her caucus lost 63 seats in the 2010 midterm elections. She announced a few days later that she would give up the speaker’s gavel and become minority leader, and won that race facing only token opposition.
Pelosi’s decision to stay on is likely to leave the current Democratic leadership team almost entirely in place, with a pair of fellow 70-somethings — House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), 73, and Rep. James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.), 72 — continuing in their roles as Pelosi’s Nos. 2 and 3 deputies, respectively.
Hoyer has now served in the No. 2 Democratic post, both as majority leader and minority whip, for 10 years.
From Media Matters:
Right-wing media are now targeting Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi as being to blame for the increase in the federal deficit. In fact, experts agree that almost the entire deficit can be attributed to Bush's tax cuts, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the economic recession.
Right-Wing Media Mock Pelosi's Statement On Deficit Reduction
Fox Nation Declares Pelosi's Statement On Deficit Reduction Being A "Priority" To Be "A Whopper." On January 4, Fox Nation posted video of Pelosi speaking at her final news conference as House speaker. During the clip, Pelosi said:
PELOSI: We have no regrets. This House has over and over again sent to the Senate legislation for job creation, which the Republicans in the Senate held up. Deficit reduction has been a high priority for us. It is our mantra: pay as you go. Unfortunately, that will be changed now. This administration and this Congress inherited a near depression. And so the initiatives that we took were positive for the American people. [Fox Nation, 1/4/11]
Fox Nation posted this text below the video:
At her final press conference as House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said, "Deficit reduction has been a high priority for us. It is our mantra, pay-as-you-go."
The numbers tell a different story.
When the Pelosi Democrats took control of Congress on January 4, 2007, the national debt stood at $8,670,596,242,973.04. The last day of the 111th Congress and Pelosi's Speakership on December 22, 2010 the national debt was $13,858,529,371,601.09 - a roughly $5.2 trillion increase in just four years. Furthermore, the year over year federal deficit has roughly quadrupled during Pelosi's four years as speaker, from $342 billion in fiscal year 2007 to an estimated $1.6 trillion at the end of fiscal year 2010. [Fox Nation, 1/4/11]
Hoft: "Speaker Pelosi's Final Insult: 'Deficit Reduction Has Been A High Priority.'" In a January 4 Gateway Pundit post, Jim Hoft posted Fox Nation's video and text and added, "What a horrible woman." [Gateway Pundit, 1/4/11]
Doocy On Pelosi's Comments: "Maybe The Spin Should Stop Here, Madam Speaker." The January 5 edition of Fox & Friends began with a segment on Pelosi's comments. After airing part of the Fox Nation clip of Pelosi speaking, the co-hosts said:
STEVE DOOCY (co-host): Now, hold on. Maybe the spin should stop here, Madam Speaker, because when you look at what she just said -- that deficit reduction has been a high priority under her gavelship -- that flies in the face of the facts. Because when she took the big hammer from John Boehner a couple of years ago, the debt was at $8.6 trillion.
BRIAN KILMEADE (co-host): Drop in the bucket.
DOOCY: That's right. As the 111th Congress concluded in December, it was at $13.8 trillion, a $5.2 trillion increase on her watch.
GRETCHEN CARLSON (co-host): I wish I would have brought my calculator this morning, because you need it for these kind of numbers, although I --
DOOCY: They're so big.
CARLSON: I don't know if calculators go to the trillions. So, if you want to break it down even more, Steve, the year-over-year federal deficit has roughly quadrupled, can't even say it, during Pelosi's four years as speaker. So, year over year, it's quadrupled. I guess that means that it's four times over every single year. [Fox News' Fox & Friends, 1/5/11]
Fox & Friends ran repeated segments throughout the January 5 broadcast in which they accused Pelosi of being responsible for the rising deficit during her tenure. In addition, contrary to Doocy's claim, Pelosi did not take "the big hammer from John Boehner a couple of years ago." In fact, Pelosi succeeded former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-IL). [Office of the Clerk, accessed 1/5/11]
Powers: "They're Saying Boehner Has An Emotional Imbalance?" In a January 5 post on Michelle Malkin's blog titled, "Pelosi Departs With a Whopper," blogger Doug Powers reposted Fox Nation's text and added, "And they're saying Boehner has an emotional imbalance?" [MichelleMalkin.com, 1/5/11]
But Experts Agree Deficit Result Of Bush-Era Policies, Wars, Economic Downturn
CBO Projected $1.2T Deficit In January 2009 Based On Spending Bush Authorized; Actual Deficit Was $1.4T. In a January 7, 2009, report, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projected, based on spending authorized under the Bush administration, that the federal deficit in FY2009 would total $1.2 trillion. According to the CBO, the actual federal deficit for FY2009 was $1.4 trillion. [CBO, January 2009 and January 2010]
CAP: "Single Most Important [Cause Of The Deficit] Is The Legacy Of President George W. Bush's Legislative Agenda." In an August 2009 analysis, the Center for American Progress (CAP) concluded that about two-thirds of the then-projected budget deterioration for 2009 and 2010 could be attributed to either Bush's policies or the economic downturn:
deficitchart
The report explained:
As for the deficit's cause, the single most important factor is the legacy of President George W. Bush's legislative agenda. Overall, changes in federal law during the Bush administration are responsible for 40 percent of the short-term fiscal problem. For example, we estimate that the tax cuts passed during the Bush presidency are reducing government revenue collections by $231 billion in 2009. Also, because of the additions to the federal debt due to Bush administration policies, the government will be paying $218 billion more in interest payments in 2009.
Had President Bush not cut taxes while simultaneously prosecuting two foreign wars and adopting other programs without paying for them, the current deficit would be only 4.7 percent of gross domestic product this year, instead of the eye-catching 11.2 percent--despite the weak economy and the costly efforts taken to restore it. In 2010, the deficit would be 3.2 percent instead of 9.6 percent.
The weak economy also plays a major role in the deficit picture. The failure of Bush economic policies--fiscal irresponsibility, regulatory indifference, fueling of an asset and credit bubble, a failure to focus on jobs and incomes, and inaction as the economy started slipping--contributed mightily to the nation's current economic situation. When the economy contracts, tax revenues decline and outlays increase for programs designed to keep people from falling deep into poverty (with the tax impact much larger than the spending impact). All told, the weak economy is responsible for 20 percent of the fiscal problems we face in 2009 and 2010.
President Obama's policies have also contributed to the federal deficit--but only 16 percent of the projected budget deterioration for 2009 and 2010 are attributable to those policies. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, designed to help bring the economy out of the recession is, by far, the largest single additional public spending under this administration. [CAP, 8/25/09]
CBPP: "[V]irtually The Entire Deficit Over The Next Ten Years" Due To Bush Policies, Economic Downturn." The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) published an analysis of federal deficits in December 2009, most recently updated on June 28, 2010, titled, "Critics Still Wrong on What's Driving Deficits in Coming Years: Economic Downturn, Financial Rescues, and Bush-Era Policies Drive the Numbers." The report noted:
Some critics continue to assert that President George W. Bush's policies bear little responsibility for the deficits the nation faces over the coming decade -- that, instead, the new policies of President Barack Obama and the 111th Congress are to blame. Most recently, a Heritage Foundation paper downplayed the role of Bush-era policies (for more on that paper, see p. 4). Nevertheless, the fact remains: Together with the economic downturn, the Bush tax cuts and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq explain virtually the entire deficit over the next ten years. [CBPP, updated 6/28/10, emphasis in original]
Harvard Business Review Group Director: "[T]he Giant Deficit Is Mainly The Result Of The Collapse In Tax Receipts Brought On By The Recession." In an October 2010 post on his Reuters blog, Justin Fox, editorial director of the Harvard Business Review Group, analyzed the deficit and concluded that it was "mainly the result of the collapse in tax receipts brought on by the recession":
The Treasury Department reported on Oct. 15 that the deficit in fiscal 2010, which ended Sept. 30, was $1.294 trillion. That's less than FY 2009's $1.416 trillion, but it's still really really big. Why is it so big, though? Is it because of all that stimulus and bailout spending? Or is something else going on?
To find out, I created a fantasy world. I figured out how fast federal spending and revenue grew over the last business cycle, from 2000 through 2007, and calculated where we'd be today if those growth rates had continued through 2010. I was originally motivated to do this for a commentary that's supposed to air tomorrow night on Nightly Business Report. But I'm thinking there's not a huge overlap between Felix Salmon readers and Nightly Business Report viewers, so I'll go ahead and share what I learned.
In my no-financial-crisis, no-bailout, no-recession, no-stimulus scenario, spending kept growing at 6.22% a year, and revenue kept growing at 3.45%. You can see from the difference between the two numbers that this was an unsustainable path. But it clearly could have been sustained for a few more years.
Where would it have left us in fiscal 2010? With $2.843 trillion in federal revenue and $3.270 trillion in spending, leaving a deficit of $427 billion. The actual revenue and spending totals for 2010 were $2.162 trillion and $3.456 trillion. So spending was $186 billion higher than if we'd stuck to the trend, and revenue was $681 billion lower. In other words, the giant deficit is mainly the result of the collapse in tax receipts brought on by the recession, not the increase in spending. Nice to know, huh? [Justin Fox, blogs.reuters.com, 10/25/10, emphasis added]
By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, under pressure to send Democrats home to campaign with the strongest possible closing argument, said Friday she is considering calling a vote on extending middle-class tax cuts next week
Democrats, however, are divided on whether forcing a recorded vote on the issue before congressional elections in November would be politically helpful as they fight to maintain control of Congress.
"We will retain the right to proceed as we choose," Pelosi told reporters. "We'll take it one day at a time."
The most sweeping tax cuts in a generation, enacted in 2001 and 2003, are due to expire in January. Republicans want to extend all the tax cuts. President Barack Obama and Democratic leaders in Congress want to extend them for individuals making less than $200,000 and married couples making less than $250,000.
If Congress does not act, taxpayers at every income level face significant tax increases.
Obama has been pushing for a vote by year's end to extend middle-class tax cuts. But House Democrats — much like their Senate counterparts — are divided. Republicans and a few Democrats want to extend the tax cuts for everyone, even the wealthiest Americans.
On Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid chose to postpone consideration of the tax cut extension until a lame duck session scheduled to convene Nov. 15.
House Democrats had hoped the Senate would act first, before the election, to narrow the question of which tax cuts to preserve. Sensing the impasse and wary of being branded tax hikers before Election Day, more than 30 rank-and-file House Democrats urged Pelosi to extend all tax cuts, at least temporarily.
The question for Democratic leaders is whether holding a tax cut debate, a debate and a vote, or joining the Senate in a bicameral punt would be least damaging before Election Day.
Some Democrats are wary of supporting Obama's plan to let taxes rise for the wealthiest Americans, fearing they would be accused of supporting a tax hike. Other Democrats believe they have a winning message of fiscal responsibility while making the rich pay more after years of relative prosperity.
Pelosi downplayed the political dilemma Friday.
"There isn't a person in our caucus that isn't for tax cuts for the middle class," Pelosi said. "It's not about the election. It's about the policy and we're all very strong on that, and members, with a vote or without a vote, can go home and talk about their commitment to that."
House Republican Leader John Boehner has seized on the indecision, saying that not securing a tax cut extension before the election risks a tax hike in 2011.
"Congress should not go home without stopping the tax hike on American families and small businesses," Boehner said. "Doing so would wallop every taxpayer with a tax hike in a struggling economy — and that's simply irresponsible."
House Republicans have said they are confident that their tax proposal would win a majority of votes in the House, if Pelosi allows it to come up for a vote.
Time is running short for the House to act before it breaks for the election. The House is only in session for two days next week, and Pelosi said her goal is to send lawmakers home by next Thursday.
Regardless of when the House votes, Pelosi vowed to extend the middle-class tax cuts by the end of the year.
"America's middle class will have a tax cut," Pelosi said. "It will be done in this Congress. There is no question about that."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Cali.) said last Friday that she fully expects to hold on to her gavel even as Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) finishes every campaign-related speech by predicting he will be the next Speaker.
"Of course that's what he says," said Pelosi, in an exclusive interview with the Huffington Post. "Of course he does. But we are very confident we will [remain in power] because we don't take anything for granted. We run every race one race at a time, and I make it really clear to my colleagues that my responsibility is to reelect our incumbents, to win our Democratic open seats and then to go after some of their seats."
In a quick detour into the world of electoral politics, Pelosi predicted with gusto that Democrats will retain control of the House even during the likely tumultuous midterm elections. Part of the reason, she said, is that the slate of House Democrats in close races has already "fought the fight" with respect to health care reform, and has the time and confidence to win over their constituents before the election. The main factor, however, is that the GOP has yet to present itself as a threat.
Asked, for instance, about remarks from Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tex.) apologizing to BP for the pressure it received from the White House to set up a $20 billion escrow fund, Pelosi offered a tongue-in-cheek lament.
"[Gen. Stanley] McChrystal came right in and took him [off the front page]," she said, in reference to the former commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan who was relieved of his post after making disparaging comments about civilian leadership.
"But it's a gift that keeps on giving because you know what, they're saying that it's a gaffe," she added. "No, it's a clear indication of who they are and that's what you're going to see. We were fighting against the health insurance industry, Republicans said no. We're fighting against Big Oil, the Republicans said no. Democrats are fighting the big banks and financial institutions; Republicans said no. Not one of them voted for the regulatory reform. And on Big Oil, what more did we need than them apologizing? When people are desperate in the Gulf and they're apologizing."
These are, of course, the same broad themes that all Democrats, not just Pelosi, have pitched to voters as Election Day nears -- from the "party of no" label applied to the GOP during the early months of 2009, to the president's speech before a Wisconsin crowd this Wednesday.
But in offering optimism about the upcoming campaign, Pelosi also touched on some specifics. In particular, she took near glee in reflecting on the special election that recently took place for former Rep. Jack Murtha's seat in Pennsylvania.
"They were going to win," Pelosi said, reflecting on how much the GOP trumped its prospects for winning the seat. 'They had a big press conference planned the next day for the burial of the now-dead Democratic Party. And we were looking at them saying: 'You don't even know what you're talking about. We own the ground.'"
"Now, I don't put money into TV unless we own the ground," she added, "because you're just wasting money. And so in that race we had a great candidate and [Mark Critz]... 110,000 door knocks, 89-something thousand phone contacts, a message about jobs and message about repealing the law that allows business and [sic] gives them a tax break for sending jobs overseas. So I was thinking maybe about three points, a clear victory. It was eight and a half points. Eight and a half points! I don't know what they were thinking. But they thought... in other words, we had to go big in the Democratic area and try to control the damage in their area and we kept saying, "Wait until their counties come in."
Joking about the president and the Speaker of the House drowning might get laughs if a late night comic says it, but how about a US senator?
At The Hill's The Washington Scene, Christina Wilkie writes, "Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) got a big laugh on Saturday at a National Republican Senatorial Committee retreat, but his joke definitely wouldn't be funny to some people."
Wilkie claims that, "According to a source who attended the meetings, Kyl told the assembled crowd a political version of the classic three-people-in-a-boat joke: 'So [President Barack] Obama, [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi [D-Calif.] and [Majority Leader] [Harry] Reid [D-Nev.] are in a row boat, and it springs a leak and starts to sink. Who gets saved?' Answer: 'The American people.'"
RAW STORY is unaware of any classic joke about three people drowning in a boat, but it's similar to the one about how one hundred lawyers drowning in the ocean would be "a good start."
Wilkie adds, "But love it or hate it, it wasn't even Kyl's own joke. The senator poached it from late night TV host Jimmy Kimmel, according to a source.
But that source appears to be incorrect, as an internet search reveals that the originator of the joke is alleged to be Kimmel's rival at NBC, Jimmy Fallon, and chances are he probably never even said it.
Since last year, a list of alleged late night jokes have circulated around the web, especially at Tea Party sites, since 2009. "I haven't a clue if any of these people said any of these phrases, but they are funny (to most of us)," a blogger writes.
"The liberals are asking us to give Obama time," one joke attributed to Jay Leno reads. "We agree and think 25 to life would be appropriate."
Another joke on the list claims to be an alleged Kimmel quote that would please birthers:
Q: What's the difference between Obama and his dog, Bo?
A: Bo has papers.
The Hill report adds, "Kyl's office declined to comment on the quip, which was made during a closed-door strategy speech in Austin, Texas."
Kyl's sense of humor has garnered him criticism before. Last November, CNN's Political Ticker noted that a Kyl joke resulted in an attack ad used against him.
Democrats are planning to hit Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl in his home state next week with a new television ad that accuses the Arizona Republican of being out of touch on health care issues - a pitch aimed squarely at women voters.
The 30-second commercial features video of a Senate exchange between Kyl and Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Michigan. In the clip, Kyl says he doesn't need maternity care, and requiring that coverage in his insurance policy would be unnecessary and expensive. Asked whether he thinks insurance policies should be required to cover pre-natal health care, Kyl's response included an offhand remark that "over 60 years ago, my mom did."
"TELL JON KYL: COVERING MATERNITY CARE ISN'T A JOKE FOR WOMEN," reads the ad's on-screen text.
Off-color jokes aren't just for Republicans, however, as a joke that Obama said at this weekend's White House Correspondents Dinner about using Predator drones to protect his daughters from the Jonas Brothers managed to offend liberals upset about joking about assassinations and conservatives just waiting to pounce.
Salon's Alex Pareene wrote, "Hah! It's funny because predator drone strikes in Pakistan have killed literally hundreds of completely innocent civilians, and now the president is evincing a casual disregard for those lives he is responsible for ending by making a lighthearted joke about killing famous young celebrities for the crime of attempting to sleep with his young daughters. (Really, everything about the joke is inappropriate. That's why you shouldn't analyze humor too much.)
M.C.L comment: Didn't the Republicans and their whores in their media go after Harry Reid for calling Bush a liar? I'm expecting Michelle Malkin to crawl out under her right sugar daddy desk and demand an apology from Jon Kyl.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is on the May/June 2010 cover of the DC magazine “Capitol File,” and conservatives are all worked up that the photograph of her may have been airbrushed. The Washington Examiner has a piece titled “Cover girl Pelosi looking rather … airy in D.C. glossy”:
If you haven’t managed to score a copy of the May/June 2010 edition of Capitol File magazine (typically flanked on every table or bathroom at any D.C. social function) you’ll notice the cover girl Nancy Pelosi looking particularly young.
Celebrity plastic surgeon Dr. Ayman Hakki of Luxxery Medical Boutique in Waldorf, Md., said although he believes Pelosi has had work done (specifically Botox of the frown lines, fat injections, a mini face-lift), the image is not the product of additional plastic surgery.
“There is airbrushing around her eyes, her upper lid has been airbrushed to make it look like there is less fat on the inside,” Hakki told Yeas & Nays. “And there is airbrushing on the line of her jaw.”
Drudge doesn’t seem to sense any irony in the fact that next to his Pelosi story is a picture of former First Lady Laura Bush’s book cover, which also looks less than 100 percent natural. ThinkProgress spoke to a couple of graphic designers who said that there definitely was some airbrushing done to the Laura Bush photograph. (View a larger version of the cover here.)
Additionally, in the past, conservatives have advocated more airbrushing of female politicians. They were outraged when Newsweek featured a picture of Sarah Palin that showed her natural features. So basically, airbrushing conservative women is acceptable, but airbrushing Democratic women is ridiculous.
While people debate the merits of airbrushing magazine shots, it’s a common practice and certainly not a scandal that says anything about the person being photographed.
M.C.L Comment: Like I've always said Republicans and their whores in the media don't let hypocrisy get in the way of a good political attack, make fun of Nancy Pelosi yet ignored the fact Laura Bush is wearing 9,000 pounds of make-up.
Yesterday in San Fransisco, federal agents arrested 48 year-old Gregory Giusti for allegedly threatening House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). Giusti “allegedly made dozens of calls to Pelosi’s homes in California and Washington, D.C., as well as her husband’s business office. He allegedly recited her home address and warned that she should not support the healthcare overhaul bill that was recently signed into law if she wanted to see her home again.” Yesterday on San Fransisco’s local ABC affiliate, Giusti’s mother blamed Fox News:
ELEANOR GIUSTI: Greg has — frequently gets in with a group of people that have really radical ideas and that are not consistent with myself or the rest of the family and — which gets him into problems. And apparently I would say this must be another one that somehow he’s gotten onto either by — I’d say Fox News or all of those that are really radical, and he — that’s where he comes from.
Watch it:
Media Matters has documented numerous instances in which Fox News personalities have launched inflammatory remarks directed at Pelosi and highlights the network’s history of violent rhetoric regarding health care reform.
Over the weekend, the tea party protests — organized by corporate lobbyist-run groups Americans for Prosperity and FreedomWorks — were scenes of violence and hate towards gay and African American Democratic members of Congress. Around the same time, acts of vandalism have occurred around the country against local Democratic Party offices and against Democratic members of Congress. As the Washington Post reported today, “some of the vandalism appears to have been instigated by an Alabama blogger, Mike Vanderboegh, who encouraged his readers to throw bricks at the windows of Democratic headquarters across the country.”
Vanderboegh is a member of an Alabama militia group who is headlining an open-carry gun rally in Northern Virginia next month. In an interview with Alan Colmes yesterday, Vanderboegh justified his call for vandalism and said the attacks are warning shots because people like him will next threaten the life of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and fight health reform with “a thousand little Waco’s”:
VANDERBOEGH: I am telling you we are motivated to break windows, we feel a deadly threat from the Federal government and the orders that the Democrat party has given us. [...]
COLMES: You’re telling people to break the windows of Democratic headquarters. You’re telling people to commit acts of vandalism. You’re supporting breaking the law.
VANDERBOEGH: May I tell you my personal motive for doing this? I’m trying to save the lives of Nancy Pelosi, and every one of these people who do not understand the unintended consequences of their actions. [...] Because they are not paying attention to the million of people across this deepening divide that politics no longer avails them. [...] We refuse to participate in the system, and we refuse to pay the fines, and we refuse arrest. Now where do you suppose that’s going but a thousand little Waco’s.
Watch it:
Despite his charges of socialism and fascism against government-sponsored social programs, Vanderboegh is reportedly dependent on Social Security Disability benefits.
By David Edwards and Gavin Dahl
The Republican Party is pulling the strings behind the tea parties but protesters still have some things in common with Democrats, according to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
"The Republican Party directs a lot of what the tea party does, but not everybody in the tea party takes direction from the Republican Party. And so there was a lot of, shall we say, astroturf, as opposed to grassroots," Pelosi told ABC's Elizabeth Vargas Sunday.
"We share some of the views of the tea partiers in terms of the role of special interests in Washington, D.C," Pelosi continued.
"So, common ground with Nancy Pelosi and tea party movement?" asked Vargas.
"Well, no, there are some. There are some because they, again, some of it is orchestrated from the Republican headquarters," she replied. "Some of it is hijacking the good intentions of lots of people who share some of our concerns that we have about the role of special interests
Taking the opportunity, she completed a one-two punch, without hesitation.
"And many tea partiers, not that I speak for them, share the view, whether it's -- and Democrats, Republicans and Independents share the view that the recent Supreme Court decision, which greatly empowers the special interests, is something that they oppose," explained Pelosi.
In his first state of the union speech, Jan. 27, President Barack Obama criticized the Supreme Court decision in Citizens United vs. FEC that overturned decades of limits on corporate spending in elections, a move many observers say will result in a "wild west" of unbridled spending designed to influence elections.
Corporate lobbyists are openly discussing how to sway elections while dodging "public scrutiny" and attaining "sufficient cover" for their intended practices, earning a sharp rebuke from transparency groups and commentators.
This video is from ABC's This Week, broadcast Feb. 28, 2010.
Tomorrow, conservatives from around the country will converge at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), which serves as a “showcase of the heart and soul of American conservatism.” The Washington Scene reports that this year’s CPAC will prominently feature a Nancy Pelosi piñata and a Harry Reid punching bag for guests to take turns beating:
Attendees at a conservative conference in town this week will have the opportunity to whack a pinata of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Conservative Political Action Conference “CPAC” begins Thursday here in D.C. and will feature a party Friday evening where guests will have the opportunity to whack a Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) pinata.
Keri Ann Meslar, director of development for the Greater Washington Sports Alliance and Katherine Kennedy of The Blonde Charity Mafia will be two of three famous D.C. residents taking a turn at the pinata during the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, which starts on Thursday. Meslar will be the guest “whacker” at a CPAC-sponsored party in Georgetown.
Mary Christopher, outreach coordinator for CivicForumPAC, said the Pelosi piñata will be filled with favorite Pelosi sayings, bills and candy. The party hopes to invite two other well-known D.C. residents to smash the piñata first, before others in attendance will be invited to try to take the Speaker down. “We’re hoping to have the females whack the piñata and males try their hand at a Harry Reid punching bag,” Christopher said.
CPAC will kick off tomorrow with a keynote speech by Florida GOP primary gubernatorial candidate Marco Rubio.
MCL comment: Let me get this right, these crack babies who spent the last eight years running this country into the ground are going to make pinatas out of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid? If anything these human monkey testicles should be making pinatas out of each other because the problems this country face traces back to their screwy policies i.e tax cuts for the wealthiest one percent of the country.
Attendees at a conservative conference in town this week will have the opportunity to whack a pinata of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Conservative Political Action Conference “CPAC” begins Thursday here in D.C. and will feature a party Friday evening where guests will have the opportunity to whack a Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) pinata. 