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Posted by MadCityMan on February 8, 2010, at 1:14 pm

DNC Nails GOP and Ryan on Medicare Cuts

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Posted by MadCityMan on February 8, 2010, at 11:03 am

Fox News Gets it Right on DADT

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Posted by Zach W on February 8, 2010, at 6:02 am

Hey Sarah Palin, your hypocrisy is showing!

Last week I wrote about some offensive comments made by White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, and at the time I agreed with Sarah Palin, who called for Emanuel to be fired, but here’s where the story gets really interesting. After Palin’s statement, conservative squawker Rush Limbaugh made more than one reference to the demeaning word on his show on Wednesday, saying “Our political correct society is acting like some giant insults taken place by calling a bunch of people who are retards, retards” and “I think their big news is he’s out there calling Obama’s number one supporters f’ing retards. So now there’s going to be a meeting. There’s going to be a retard summit at the White House”.

Despite Limbaugh’s comments, Palin did not call for his ouster, with a spokesperson for Palin saying only, “Gov. Palin believes crude and demeaning name-calling at the expense of others is disrespectful.” So while Sarah Palin felt Rahm Emanuel deserved to be fired for one offensive remark, she apparently didn’t feel Rush Limbaugh deserved the same for not one, not two, but four references to the word retard. That’s hypocrisy, plain and simple.

H/T to James Rowen.

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Posted by Zach W on February 8, 2010, at 5:40 am

A Penny For Kids

As I’ve noted before, Wisconsin’s school funding formula is flawed, perhaps fatally. School districts across the state are facing increasingly difficult decisions on how to balance their desire to provide a quality education to their students with their need to not bust their budgets, and as Forward Our Motto points out, a very small sales tax that might just fix the state’s school funding problem is not politically viable:

Tom Beebe has an idea for raising $850 million a year for Wisconsin schools, easing property taxes for homeowners and buying some time to devise a long-term solution to the state’s Byzantine school funding system — raise the state’s 5 percent sales tax by 1 percentage point.

It might not be politically viable. But supporters say at least it’s an idea.

In order to address the state’s school funding problems, a group called A Penny For Kids has started a petition to tell Wisconsin legislators that our schools need their attention now and a penny-for-kids sales tax increase is a good way to start. If passed, a one-cent increase in the sales tax will raise about $850 million annually, according to the group, with one example of how the money would be distributed as follows:

  • $280 million to increase equalization aid and reduce property taxes
  • $280 million for additional aid to children from poverty
  • $170 million to offset the regressively of the sales tax
  • $66 million for additional aid to children with disabilities
  • $25 million in additional aid for rural districts
  • $15 million in additional aid for children who are English language learners
  • $10 million in additional aid for transportation expenses
  • $10 million to slow the decline in aid to districts with declining enrollment
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Posted by Zach W on February 8, 2010, at 5:39 am

Only 600 attendees? That’s not a very impressive movement

So the national “Tea Party” convention was held this weekend, as despite the presence of conservative darling Sarah Palin as the keynote speaker, 600 folks attended the “Tea Party” convention. For a supposed “national movement,”attendance of 66 at your national convention isn’t that impressive. As James Rowen notes, he’s been to local weekend conferences with that many people.

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Posted by Zach W on February 8, 2010, at 5:31 am

Scott Lee Cohen: journalism fail!

Down in Illinois, there’s a fascinating (and disturbing) story breaking about Scott Lee Cohen, the Democratic nominee for Illinois Lt. Governor. According to the Chicago Tribune, Cohen has some significant skeletons in his closet, having been accused of abusing women, failing to pay child support and spending lavishly on extramarital affairs. When Democratic gubernatorial candidate Pat Quinn suggested that Cohen drop out of the 2010 race for the good of the Democratic Party, Cohen, a pawnbroker and political neophyte, vowed to continue as a lieutenant governor candidate after voters nominated him Tuesday. Perhaps more disturbing than the allegations of past wrongdoing are new disclosures showing that even as Cohen spent more than $2 million of his own money to run TV and radio ads for his campaign, as recently as December his ex-wife was accusing him in court of being $54,000 behind in child support payments.

While the allegations surrounding Scott Lee Cohen are certainly disturbing, what’s equally as disturbing is the fact that none of Ilinois’ print or news media outlets picked up on the story until after Cohen won the Lt. Governor’s race. As Deke Rivers of Caffeinated Politics notes, one of the vital jobs the media undertakes should be in-depth investigative reporting. The media in Illinois certainly dropped the ball with a story that certainly could have (and likely would have) changed the outcome of the Lt. Governor race, leaving plenty of egg on everyone’s face.

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Posted by Zach W on February 7, 2010, at 6:52 am

Tancredo kicks off Tea Party convention with a bang

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

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Posted by Zach W on February 7, 2010, at 6:48 am

The kooky things conservatives say

“Obama will lose in a Dem primary and will NOT be the Dems’ candidate in 2012.”

So says Glenn D. Frankovis, political pundit extraordinaire.

“Of course, the obliterated serial number raises an eyebrow, but it isn’t illegal to scratch up your own gun”

Says Owen Robinson, gun law expert. However, as illy T notes, Owen Robinson might want to read up on what the law says about “scratching” a serial number off a gun.

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Posted by Zach W on February 7, 2010, at 5:51 am

Republican obstructionism reaches new levels

In a stunning display of obstructionism, Republican Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama has put a “blanket hold” on at least 70 nominations President Obama has sent to the Senate, according to multiple reports. The hold means no nominations can move forward unless Senate Democrats can secure a 60-member cloture vote to break it, or until Shelby lifts the hold. Sen. Shelby has offered no explanation for the holds except to confirm the holds are in place. News of the holds was broken by aides to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who indicated the hold extends to “all executive nominations on the Senate calendar.”

According to the Talking Points Memo, Sen. Shelby is holding President Obama’s nominees hostage until two earmarks that would send billions in taxpayer dollars to Sen. Shelby’s home state move forward. The two programs Sen. Shelby wants to move forward include a $40 billion contract to build air-to-air refueling tankers and an improvised explosive device testing lab for the FBI, at a cost of $45 million.

I can’t wait to read all the conservatives who’ll attack Sen. Shelby for his blatant obstructionism in the name of pork barrel spending, and I can’t wait to see how fiscal conservatives plan on protesting Sen. Shelby’s decision to obstruct the business of the Senate simply so he can grab some dollars for his home state.

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Posted by MadCityMan on February 6, 2010, at 1:08 pm

GOP Senators Put Nation’s Security at Risk

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