John McCain has no regrets about the biggest and most controversial decision of his unsuccessful 2008 presidential campaign. Speaking to Sean Hannity on Tuesday evening in [...]]]> H/T HuffPO: Last night Senator and failed presidential candidate John McCain told Sean Hannity that picking Sarah Palin, was the best decision he ever made:

John McCain has no regrets about the biggest and most controversial decision of his unsuccessful 2008 presidential campaign. Speaking to Sean Hannity on Tuesday evening in New Hampshire, McCain said naming Sarah Palin his running mate was “still the best decision I’ve ever made.”

Much drama has occurred since the McCain-Palin ticket lost to Barack Obama and Joe Biden. In 2009, several members of McCain’s campaign team trashed Palin in a Vanity Fair article, and in 2010, McCain’s daughter Meghan claimed Palin caused “stress, drama, panic” on the campaign trail.

I wonder what his rich wife (who set him up for the good life) or his kids felt about that? Personally, I always felt that by unleashing Sarah Palin on the country you put a black mark on your record that would never go away.

As if that was not humorous enough watch this:

PS: To Wiggy, This post is NOT about you nor is it about Vanity Fair.

“Ron Paul may be the wackiest candidate in the G.O.P. field. But for pure, blind stupidity, nobody beats Santorum,” Mr. Salter wrote. [...]]]> Ouch bro, that’s gonna leave a mark…

But Mr. McCain’s longtime staff aide, Mark Salter, let loose a stream of vitriol on his Facebook page the day of the Hewitt interview.

“Ron Paul may be the wackiest candidate in the G.O.P. field. But for pure, blind stupidity, nobody beats Santorum,” Mr. Salter wrote. “In my 20 years in the Senate, I never met a dumber member, which he reminded me of today.”

While he took on 7 talking points here are a couple highlights!

3. Shrinking government generates more jobs.
Wrong again. It means fewer government workers – everyone from teachers, fire fighters, police officers, and social workers at the state and local levels to safety inspectors and [...]]]> And destroys them!

While he took on 7 talking points here are a couple highlights!

3. Shrinking government generates more jobs.
Wrong again. It means fewer government workers – everyone from teachers, fire fighters, police officers, and social workers at the state and local levels to safety inspectors and military personnel at the federal. And fewer government contractors, who would employ fewer private-sector workers. According to Moody’s economist Mark Zandi (a campaign advisor to John McCain), the $61 billion in spending cuts proposed by the House GOP will cost the economy 700,000 jobs this year and next.

7. It’s unfair that lower-income Americans don’t pay income tax.
Wrong. There’s nothing unfair about it. Lower-income Americans pay out a larger share of their paychecks in payroll taxes, sales taxes, user fees, and tolls than everyone else.

This is the guy who brought us such brilliant songs as this:

Full disclosure though, I am a big [...]]]> That as we speak, throughout the right wing echo chamber, Hank Williams Jr. is being put on a pedestal! He will now have an open invite to join Hannity any time he wants.

This is the guy who brought us such brilliant songs as this:

Full disclosure though, I am a big Hank Williams Jr. Fan, have all of his records, tapes and CD’s and have seen him in concert many times(not as many times as I have seen Ted Nugent though), including a year and half ago. I am not sure how he turned so right wing, since in the 80′s many of his songs were about how hard life is on everyday people under Reaganomics. If it was not for Republican economic policies, he would not have a subject to sing about. Including this song that describes the Bush years perfectly.

Personally I think the song should have been replaced because it was based off a song he wrote in 1984, it was a little stale. He should not have been replaced for his ridiculous comments. I say let the right wing speak so everyone can see who they are! That being said it will be interesting to see just how much the right wing echo chamber jumps to his defense.

When I was in ninth grade, my dad often asked me to translate little scraps of paper that he got from his co-workers at the battery recycling plant. [...]]]> No it is not that we do not have a McCain/Palin administration, it is Hilda Solis. Here is her op/ed for Labor Day.

When I was in ninth grade, my dad often asked me to translate little scraps of paper that he got from his co-workers at the battery recycling plant. He was a union steward there, and through those notes – often written in Spanish – his co-workers shared their concerns about unsafe conditions, paychecks that didn’t add up or new ideas to improve efficiency. My dad explained that the notes started conversations to make things better.

From an early age, I saw how having a collective voice at work made a real and significant difference for my father, his co-workers and for my mother who worked at a toy factory.

“Union” is a simple word with a powerful impact – when workers unify, they get a little more leverage to bargain. They can collectively ask for fairer wages and safer working conditions. They have a better chance at entering and staying in the middle class.

Wisconsin has been at the epicenter of the nation’s labor debates this year, and collective bargaining – what my dad called sitting “at the table” – has been a key issue. Similar battles are being fought in other states. According to a recent poll, the American people strongly oppose efforts to strip state workers of their rights to collectively bargain.

More than 100 years ago, Labor Day was established to pay tribute to workers. It’s a day to recognize the contributions working men and women have made to the strength and prosperity of our nation. Today is a day when every one of us should take a moment to thank them and honor their work.

Throughout our nation’s history, unions have played a role in all that. Their efforts have made the workplace better and safer for all workers, whether they are in a union or not. If you enjoy your weekends, you can thank a union. If you work an eight-hour day or get paid overtime when you work more, you can thank a union. If you’re paid a minimum wage, if you take time off to care for a sick family member or new baby, you can thank a union.

Unions are still a crucial and articulate voice in advocating for workers and keeping families in the middle class. Across the country, unions are leading the way with registered apprentice programs – helping to rebuild our nation’s infrastructure – that provide first-rate training, good jobs with good pay and a gateway to a better life.

Unions are also helping veterans make the transition to civilian life, with programs such as Helmets to Hardhats, a nonprofit organization that has connected thousands of veterans with careers, training and jobs in the construction industry.

One of the reasons that the American auto industry has soared back is that management recognized its workforce as an enormous asset with unique wisdom about making cars. For example, when the unionized workers building the Ford Explorer noticed that a bracket installation process could cause paint damage, they took their concerns to the engineers. Management listened and, together with the union, responded with a new protective covering on the paint surface. As a result, Ford Explorer drivers nationwide are saving money in paint repairs.

Having that voice makes a difference in all of our lives . . . and not just about the paint on our cars. The people who teach our children, the nurses who care for us when we are sick, the firefighters who run into burning buildings or the police who patrol the streets while we sleep need and deserve that voice, too. And when they have it, those of us who depend on them benefit from it.

It’s been a long time since I sat with my dad and those scraps of paper, but what I learned from our time together then is still true: A voice at work makes things better.

That idea is worth remembering and celebrating. Not just on Labor Day, but every day.

WASHINGTON – Amid diminishing media interest, Sarah Palin has quit her high-profile bus tour halfway through and returned to Alaska with her family, according to RealClearPolitics.

The move puts a damper on widespread speculations that Palin’s “One Nation” bus tour, which launched on Memorial Day, was a [...]]]> her bus tour halfway through!

WASHINGTON – Amid diminishing media interest, Sarah Palin has quit her high-profile bus tour halfway through and returned to Alaska with her family, according to RealClearPolitics.

The move puts a damper on widespread speculations that Palin’s “One Nation” bus tour, which launched on Memorial Day, was a precursor to a potential White House bid for 2012. Palin never made it to her scheduled stops in the key primary states of Iowa and New Hampshire.

This is my first and only reaction. Thats it!

“I mean, you [...]]]> To say former U.S. Senator and 2012 Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum is a grade-A asshole would be a gross understatement (emphasis mine):

“And so this idea that we didn’t ask that question while Khalid Sheik Mohammed was being waterboarded, he [McCain] doesn’t understand how enhanced interrogation works,” said Santorum.

“I mean, you break somebody, and after they’re broken, they become cooperative. And that’s when we got this information.”

Anybody who reads this blog regularly knows I’m no fan of Sen. John McCain, but there’s no denying that if anyone understands how “enhanced interrogation” works, it’s John McCain. McCain endured horrific torture at the hands of North Vietnamese forces for roughly 5 years after his aircraft was shot down, and for Rick Santorum to openly say that John McCain doesn’t understand how torture works is absolutely galling.