Bad Deeds for 7-19-2010

 

Rick Perry is Lying About Bill White’s Support of Men and Women in Uniform and Their Right to Vote – Bill White has always unequivocally supported the right of men and women in uniform to vote in all elections.

Bill White grew up the son of a disabled WWII veteran who went to college on the GI Bill. Bill’s father taught him the importance of service, and Bill White has a deep respect for those who serve our country. He has been an advocate for building the military and keeping more military forces in Texas to ensure national security.

As Houston’s mayor, Bill was honored by the Houston Military Affairs Council for his work in spearheading a regional Returning Veterans Initiative designed to give returning veterans the welcome they deserve with coordinated social services, reductions in red tape and employment opportunities. The Department of the Army recognized this initiative as one of the finest in the country, and Houston was named one of the most military friendly cities in which to live and work.

Bill White has always been a strong supporter of voting rights and as a high school student went door to door to register voters.

The same attack was discredited during the Houston mayor’s race in 2003. Rick Perry is hoping that you won’t remember.

 

Republican John Cornyn Unable to Name One Republican Fiscal Policy Change Since Bush Era – Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) couldn’t find a straight answer to give Sunday when he was asked how Republican fiscal policies today differ from their policies during the Bush era.
“What does distinguish the Republican Party of today from the Republican Party under President Bush’s rule with regards to spending, which is where it got out of control — under Republican rule,” asked host David Gregory on NBC’s Meet The Press.

At this point, Cornyn dabbled in talking points, not answering the question.

But Gregory persisted in his original question. “So my question is still: What is the distinction of the Republican Party of today versus the Bush record that you’re defending?”

More blabber from Cornyn without answering the question.

“In other words,” comments the AlterPolitics blog, which posted the Cornyn interview online, “they intend to resume Bush’s policies of increasing the national debt to pay for deeper tax cuts for the rich, to bail out Wall Street fat cats, and to wage more endless and unnecessary wars.”

Cornyn’s lack of detail will give ammunition to critics of Republican policies who argue the party is determined to roll ahead with the same policies that some economists now blame for the economic meltdown — things such as the Bush tax cuts, which some argue contributed to the federal government’s debt burden and resulted in a greater share of wealth being concentrated in the hands of a few.

 

National Republican Congressional Committee Chair Turns To Bush Agenda When Asked How Republicans Would Cut Deficit – Pressed repeatedly by host David Gregory on “Meet The Press” this Sunday to explain exactly what the GOP would do to cut the deficit, the National Republican Congressional Committee chair Rep. Pete Sessions’ (R-Tex.) stammered and offered platitudes. Sessions was, as Gregory noted, dabbling in talking points; or, to distill it even further, just repeating the question in the form of an answer. (How are you going to balance the budget? We are going to balance the budget.)

“Tell me how you do it,” a frustrated Gregory interjected. “Name a painful choice that Republicans are prepared to say we have to make?”

Sessions had none, save to hint that the policies he wanted to pursue were the ones tried by the previous administration. “We need to go back to the exact same agenda that is empowering the free enterprise system rather than diminishing it,” he said.

And hence, the Democratic glee.

 

Republicans Being Advised to Stay Away From Discussing Issues – Behind the scenes, many Republicans are being urged to avoid issues at all costs. Some of the party’s most influential political consultants are quietly counseling their clients to stay on the offensive for the November midterm elections and steer clear of taking stands on substance that might give Democratic opponents material for a counterattack.

“The smart political approach would be to make the election about the Democrats,” said Neil Newhouse of the powerhouse Republican polling firm Public Opinion Strategies, which is advising more than 50 House and Senate candidates. “In terms of our individual campaigns, I don’t think it does a great deal of good” to engage in a debate over the Republicans’ own agenda. (Because there isn’t one, other than do what Bush already failed at. – See the two articles above. – JLV)

 

John McCain Says Paying Teachers is Pork, but Buying “Wonderful Missiles” is Good – Arizona’s first debate for the Republican primary race had a few memorable moments but none summed up the Republican Party’s view on what is “pork” and what they consider their priorities on spending than this bit by John McCain. Mc Cain said that hiring new teachers is pork, but we need to keep make sure that the companies “making those wonderful missiles” get a tax cut.

 

Rupert Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal Lies About the Financial Reform Bill – The Senate has voted to approve the financial reform bill, which includes authority to audit the Fed. Now we will find out which zombie banks on Wall Street got a new lease on life with Fed money, as the Fed’s balance sheet grew by over one trillion dollars. But if you happened to read Rupert Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal on May 7, 2010, you would have heard a different story. “Plan for Congressional Audits of Fed Dies in Senate,” was the headline. Exactly what Wall Street wanted you to think.

Whoops! It looks like the Wall Street Journal has gone the way of Rupert Murdoch’s flagship holding, Fox News.

 

Right-Wing Angry Guy Shoots at Police – A 45-year-old parolee, described by his mother as angry at left-wing politicians, opened fire on California Highway Patrol officers on an Oakland freeway early Sunday and was hit by return fire while wearing body armor, authorities said.

Williams’ mother, Janice Williams of Groveland, said her son had been living next door and taking care of her father’s house and land. She said he had been released from prison about 2 1/2 years ago after a felony conviction, which she declined to describe, and had almost completed his parole. “He hasn’t been able to get a job because he’s an ex-felon and nobody will hire him,” she said. She said her son, who had been a carpenter and a cabinetmaker before his imprisonment, was angry about his unemployment and about “what’s happening to our country.”

Williams watched the news on television and was upset by “the way Congress was railroading through all these left-wing agenda items,” his mother said. She said she had planned to cook salsa with her son on Sunday and was making preparations when she got a call from a television reporter, looked out the window and saw that her pickup was gone. She said she then checked the locked safe where she kept her guns, all legally purchased and owned, and found that they were also missing. Janice Williams said she kept the guns because “eventually, I think we’re going to be caught up in a revolution.” But she said she had told her son many times that “he didn’t have to be on the front lines.”

She said she had no explanation for his actions.

(That’s right; like so many right-wing fearful people, she hasn’t got a clue. – JLV)

 

Sean Hannity is Either Blind or Lying: Says He Can’t Find Any Racist Tea Party Signs – Fox News’ Sean Hannity is having trouble finding racist signs at Tea Party events but maybe that’s because he’s just not looking very hard.

Radio host Steven A. Smith joined Hannity Thursday night to discuss a resolution passed by the NAACP condemning racism in the Tea Party. “Is there any example [of] any Tea Party members said anything racist, held any racist signs? Because we can’t find any,” Hannity asked Smith.
But racially tinged signs from Tea Party events are widespread on the Internet. A sign from a Madison, Wisconsin Tea Party reads “Obama’s Plan — White Slavery.”

A sign from another event says “Obama — What you talkin about Willis! Spend my money?”
“Obamanomics — Monkey see, Monkey spend!” reads a sign from a Denver Tea Party.

Regards,

Jim