Ay Yay Yay, Perry

He may be indicted... But that's still not stopping him from running for President. Outgoing Texas Governor Rick Perry (R) has been indicted on two felony abuse of power charges related to his veto of a bill funding the state office in charge of investigating corruption.

Yet despite this (not so) little setback, #Perry2016 rages on. Earlier today, he addressed the Heritage Foundation. During his speech, Perry attempted to give a serious speech on Iraq. And surprise, surprise, he agrees with neoconservatives on sending American troops back to essentially restart the Iraq War.

Oh, and that's not all. Rick Perry also had something to say about Isis coming to America. He actually claimed "it's a very real possibility" that Isis terrorists have crossed the US-Mexico Border.



We know Republican "leaders" have been desperate to spin away their horrific EPIC FAIL on comprehensive immigration reform (CIR), but this is truly beyond the pale. Does Rick Perry truly expect us to believe that refugee children who have come here fleeing epic violence in Central America are actually Isis terrorists from the Middle East? Who does he think he's kidding?

If anything, the children being deported are in grave danger. Yes, G-O-TEA politicians like Rick Perry want to deport refugee children back into an active war zone. And they like to call themselves the "pro-life, pro-family party"?



So Rick Perry wants to talk terrorism? He really wants to talk terrorism? Perhaps before he speaks of any more visions of "Isis on the Rio Grande", he needs to have a heart-to-heart with his own base. Oh, and perhaps he should focus on his own pending criminal trial.

Border Games

Wait, wasn't this a catastrophe? Wasn't this an "INVASION!!!"? Wasn't this some "declaration of war"?

All of a sudden, it isn't any more. Actually, it never actually was in the first place. Remember, we've been talking about refugees, and mostly child refugees at that.

But now that G-O-TEA politicians have turned the Central American refugee crisis into a political football game, they're throwing any & all serious policy questions over the goal post and out the window. Send in the National Guard (who can't make arrests)! Attack that YMCA bus! And don't forget to deport those DREAMers!



Yet while these G-O-TEA politicians wax poetic about their "philosophy of principles for (what reform?)", kids are stuffed into kennels. No really, these children are being kept in chain link cages. And this is the America we want the world to see?

We can only wonder if this is what Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) had in mind when he took to the Senate floor yesterday. While he spent some time debunking the "#SecureTheBorder" myths, he also addressed the real humanitarian crisis on our hands.



Yet instead of heeding this call to real action, the usual G-O-TEA suspects want to continue playing their Border Games. Even as they're being called out on their farce, they keep playing.

And to make this matter even worse, certain other politicians prefer to turn their backs to these refugees. "Children? What children?! Keep those dirty buggers away from my state!"

If only we had more leaders like Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick (D) and Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley (D)...



And if only the above mentioned political "players" could stop playing Border Games with real people's lives.

Whatever

Whatever happened to "fiscal responsibility"? Whatever happened to austerity? Whatever happened to "live within your means"? Oh, and whatever does Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Austerity) have to say about this?

Outgoing Texas Governor Rick Perry (R) has decided to pull another political stunt on the border. Fresh off his ammosexual orgy "heat packing display" with Sean Hannity, Rick Perry decided to send about 1,000 Texas National Guard troops to the US-Mexico Border. And he wants the federal government to pay for this political stunt National Guard deployment.



Remember that National Guard troops are not authorized to make arrests. And keep in mind that Congress can easily alleviate the situation in South Texas by approving the $3.7 billion emergency appropriations bill that President Obama has proposed. Oh, and the comprehensive immigration reform (CIR) legislation that Perry's fellow Republicans on Capitol Hill rejected would have added even more border security on top of the already aggressive border security regime that President Obama already has in place. (How does Rick Perry think all these #BorderChildren have been picked up by Border Patrol?)

So why is Rick Perry now doing this? Why is he ordering roughly 1,000 Texas National Guard troops to the US-Mexico Border? Why is he ordering troops who can't even make arrests and demanding the feds pay for them? Why won't he instead do something more productive?

Well, why did infamous G-O-TEA pot stirrer Laura Ingraham concoct a brand new anti-Obama conspiracy theory centered on the downed Malaysian Airlines plane in eastern Ukraine? Why did G-O-TEA Demon Queen professional flame thrower Ann Coulter attack a teenage girl? Why has G-O-TEA conspiracy king Glenn Beck been mercilessly attacked by his own party for suggesting refugee children be treated with compassion?

Whatever happened to policy consistency? Whatever happened to human decency? And whatever happened to good political sense?

Whatever G-O-TEA politicians are thinking... Wait, are they even thinking? Or are they just reacting out of pure stupidi-TEA? Whatever they're doing, it's already a strong contender for "Most Ridiculous Political Stunt of the Year".

(In)Action

In the past week, we've been doing our part here to explain the severity of the #BorderChildren crisis. They are indeed real people. They are not mere political footballs.

But for the newly "rebranded" soon-to-be-ex-Governor Rick Perry (R) and his fringe militia loving BFF Sean Hannity, today is the perfect day to pack extra heat at the Texas Border. Of course, we're just wondering why they didn't invite the rest of the Open Carry Texas crew to join them. We're sure they would have loved to pack heat alongside them.

Perhaps instead of trying to (mis)use a genuine humanitarian crisis to score political points, Governor Perry should actually do his job? Did he miss the big news occurring in his own state?



Yesterday, Ron Lee Haskell was arrested after Spring, Texas, police finally convinced him to surrender. He's suspected of killing 4 children and 2 adults. Another young girl was wounded in the shooting, and she's still in critical condition.

This comes just days after a major shooting next door (in Louisiana). On New Orleans' famous Bourbon Street, Trung Le is suspected of shooting 1 person dead and injuring 9 other people. Keep in mind that this occurred on Bourbon Street. That's where tourists like to "whoop it up" and enjoy themselves.



Sound familiar yet? It should. Last year, we witnessed multiple shootings on the Las Vegas Strip. And just this past March, we saw another near miss on The Strip.

Last year, Congress had the chance to do something on gun violence, even something as tiny & modest as expanding background checks for gun purchases. But for Dean Heller (R-NRA), that was just too much. And for Rep. Joe Heck (R-NRA), the "portal" wasn't right. For them and many of their G-O-TEA colleagues, it was far easier to serve as "what stood in the way" than to make any effort to prevent more senseless bloodshed.

And so far, it looks like they prefer Rick Perry's brand of heat packing (photo-op) "action" over real action. We've been seeing them grandstand on immigration reform. And... Well, they're not pretending to act on gun violence any more. Apparently as long as the NRA is happy with their inaction, they're happy. Never mind the "new normal" of bloody dystopia all the rest of us must live under.

They Are Real People.

These are children. These are families. Keep that in mind.

They are real people. Don't forget that. We know it's easy to forget this when the usual "TEA" fueled blowhards, pundits, & spinners take to the airwaves to scream about conspiratorial nonsense.



These are children. These are families. These are people. They're not Rick Perry's personal political punching bags.

G-O-TEA politicians & pundits are busy attacking President Obama (and threatening to impeach him) because he "refuses to act". Never mind that the President has already sent a $3.7 billion emergency appropriations bill to Congress to address the current Central American migrant crisis. Never mind that the President is taking some heat from human rights advocates for proposing to deport so many of these refugees. And never mind that the solution so many Congressional Republicans claim they want has been on their desks for the past year, just waiting for their action: S 744/HR 15.

The US Senate passed comprehensive immigration reform (CIR) just over a year ago. The bill they passed, S 744, has been awaiting House action. Last fall, Rep. Steven Horsford (D-North Las Vegas) and a bipartisan coalition of his House colleagues introduced HR 15 as a companion bill to S 744. For 9 months, HR 15 has been sitting in some dark House Committee room and waiting for further action. Why won't those allegedly "pro-reform Republicans" (cough- Joe Heck- cough) demand a floor vote for HR 15 now? Why can't they even take the $3.7 billion package that the President is offering them?

S 744 included an additional $30 billion for border security. And that's on top of all the billions in additional border security the federal government has spent in the past 5 years. Oh, and let's not forget the 2,000,000+ immigrants who have been apprehended & deported since President Obama took office.



Let's get real here. This isn't a "border security problem". This isn't an "Obama problem". And while this is a political problem, it's not actually what certain pundits & personalities claim it is.

These are children. These are families. They are real people. They are refugees.

They're not "illegals". They're not "aliens". They're not "garbage" that somehow needs to be "disposed of". They are real people. And it's a damned shame we are having this protracted debate on whether to humanely treat actual human beings.

Political Paradox

We're now used to hearing about "the next big march in DC". How many times have we heard this from the usual G-O-TEA suspects? Anyone remember "Operation American Spring"?

They're already back. But this time, they're doing the #March4Marriage. All those tens of 21st Century Know Nothings descended upon the nation's capital to try to stop marriage equality. No, we're not kidding. This actually happened.

But why? Why did this have to happen? Why are G-O-TEA Culture Warriors still fighting against civil rights? Are they truly that threatened by parents like Jason Hanna & Joe Riggs raising their children?



Are they that afraid of American innovators like Martine Rothblatt making even more positive contributions to science, medicine, and society?



Or are they just too caught up in Adam Laxalt's "political issues" and Cresent Hardy's "segregation laws" to realize we're all living in the 21st century now?

Here's the strange paradox of the G-O-TEA's relationship with LGBTQ civil rights. They're trying so hard to make us believe "Republican rebranding" as some real phenomenon, yet they keep following the marching orders of an ever shrinking yet somehow still quite vocal minority who refuse to accept LGBTQ Americans as real people. They're trying so hard to make us believe politicians like Rick Perry, Daryl Metcalfe, Kevin Cramer, and Joe Heck have "rebranded" their way to being "refreshed and renewed"... When they're simply supporting the same old agenda of bigotry and discrimination.



There were only tens of #March4Marriage agitators on Capitol Hill. So why are they still allowed to dictate nationwide policy? Why do they still have so much juice in Congress? And why must we still take them seriously?

How can so few have so much power to discriminate against so many? Perhaps this is the great political paradox of our time.

Can't They Just Say, "Happy PRIDE Month"?

On Tuesday, we learned who would advance to the November general election. In NV-04, Rep. Steven Horsford (D-North Las Vegas) will be up against outgoing Assembly Member Cresent Hardy.

Remember Cresent Hardy? He's a self-proclaimed expert in "segregation laws". He doesn't want to "create classes" and "separation"... Unless that separation is called for by his "religious beliefs".

When he and Adam Laxalt launched their puzzling campaign against LGBTQ civil rights just as other Nevada Republicans were trying to "rebrand" their way out of the Stone Age, we could sense that "Republican rebranding" wouldn't accomplish much of anything. After all, it's not just a Nevada problem. It's a nationwide problem for their party.



Scott Esk is a Republican running for a Oklahoma State Legislature seat. Normally, a candidate running for state legislature doesn't attract national headlines. However, this is a special case. In this case, Scott Esk supports the death penalty (stoning, specifically) for "homosexuality".

But wait, there's more. Remember Rick Perry (R)? He's the future ex-Governor of Texas. He made a total @ssclown of himself when he tried running for President in 2011/12. And he's still making a total @ssclown of himself now. Just this week, he compared being queer to alcoholism... Because he's such a "compassionate conservative".

Wouldn't it just be easier for the Republican Party to send out a nice press release wishing everyone a happy PRIDE Month? Couldn't they just follow Katie Couric's lead and learn from their past mistakes? Why are they so hell-bent on repeating their mistakes over and over and over again?

Republicans in Nevada and elsewhere have been trying so hard to "rebrand" when they simply need to reevaluate their Stone Age era platform. Seriously, there's no way to "rebrand" "the right side of the Bible". Perhaps instead of constantly trying to sell us on "Republican rebranding", they can try treating us with some respect & dignity for a change? Oh, and they can start by simply wishing us a happy PRIDE Month.

Romney Sends Perry to Nevada. Sorry, But We'd Rather Have the Truth.

Today, none other than Rick Perry will be returning to Nevada to open Mitt Romney's new Elko campaign office! Remember him? Oh yes, Rick Perry really made his BFF Brian Sandoval proud!

And now, Perry is set to appear in Elko to speak up for his new BFF, Mitt Romney. Remember what Perry said about Romney earlier this year? I don't think he wants you to.

Why? See for yourself.

Apparently, Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry committed "the unforgivable sin": They "released the kraken" that is Mitt Romney's dirtiest secret, and the GOP establishment is demanding they stuff that genie back in the bottle and toss it out to sea. Too bad for them that genies like this one really can't be recaptured and contained. This one will indeed be coming back to haunt the G-O-TEA this fall. [...]

It also speaks volumes that the RNC is begging its own not to mention Mitt Romney's stint at Bain Capital, and that Romney himself says that matters of economic injustice are only allowed to be discussed "in quiet rooms". [...]

Again, the contrast couldn't be any greater. Romney profits off government sponsored corporate welfare, then he says discussions of economic inequality are all "about envy". Romney lies about President Obama's economic record, then his GOP establishment surrogates throw a temper tantrum when anyone tries to tell the truth about Mitt Romney's record at Bain Capital. And we're supposed to believe he can boost job creation as US President?

Romney is clearly angry that this election may very well be decided on matters of economic inequality... Especially since he's the one who stands to lose the most from it.

Oh, dear. I had a hunch this story wouldn't die in January. But my goodness, I didn't know my words from then would turn out to be this prophetic.



Now, Mitt Romney is backtracking and claiming these are all just pesky lies. It's too bad for Mittens that Mitt Romney himself has confirmed his role at Bain Capital early last decade. And not only that, but Romney still had an active role at Bain!

If you're still wondering why this is such a big deal, remember that Romney wants to be absolved of any and all responsibility for Bain's more unsavory business practices, such as the gutting of American companies that had created American jobs, as well as the outsourcing of those jobs overseas. If Romney indeed was still CEO and sole stockholder in Bain Capital all the way to 2002, as SEC documents now show, then he has to take responsibility for those unsavory business practices that now threaten his Presidential Campaign.

And here's why this is his worst nightmare: It's all too deja vu for Mittens.

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

And especially since none other than Rick Perry was alluding to this during the G-O-TEA primary season, he won't have an easy time shrugging this off in Elko today. Again, remember that Rick Perry himself denounced Mitt Romney's vulture capitalism! Are we all supposed to forget that now? I think not.

Game Change?

Well, today looks to be quite the exciting day. On the G-O-TEA side, Rick Perry dropped out...



And Mitt Romney didn't really win Iowa, after all!

The Iowa state GOP says their certified results show Rick Santorum winning by a 34-vote margin over Mitt Romney, a reversal of Romney’s reported caucus night lead of 8 votes — but the party has nevertheless called the result a “split decision,” citing the matter of 8 missing precincts. But those precincts aren’t really missing. [...]

[...T]he results that were reported on caucus night by the state GOP are still online. And for those precincts, we can get an idea of how Santorum and Romney performed against each other. Of course, we should remain aware that there still could be a typo in these numbers — but on the other hand, the probabilities strongly favor them being accurate for both Santorum and Romney, as errors that do occur (if at all) could have been spread across the other candidates, as well.

And as it turns out, when incorporating the numbers from election night, Santorum’s lead actually becomes even wider. [...]

In those precincts, based on the reported caucus night results, Santorum received a total of 81 votes, to Romney’s 46.

If those results are added to the certified results, Santorum’s 29,839 votes would become 29,920, and Romney’ 29,805 would become 29,851 — for a “final” result of Santorum winning the caucuses, by a margin of 69 votes.

They don't like Mittens... They really don't like him. And with Perry bowing out to endorse Newt Gingrich and Romney's "dazzling Iowa win!!!" officially taken away from him, perhaps South Carolina will provide fireworks, after all...

But Nevada's G-O-TEA Caucus still looks to arrive like a dud. Now that Perry's out, Brian Sandoval's endorsement doesn't seem to be worth a hill of beans. And funny enough, the big candidate appearance that everyone is now talking about... Is President Obama's.

President Barack Obama will visit Las Vegas next week, on a five-stop swing through the West and Midwest.

Obama will be arriving in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Jan. 25 and stay overnight, departing on Thursday, Jan. 26. No further details about the trip were immediately available, except that the president’s visit — like Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to Reno’s Galena High School on Thursday to talk about college affordability — is official White House business.

The two trips bookend the Nevada Democratic Caucuses this Saturday. While the vice president and president’s stops in the Silver State are not officially part of the 2012 reelection campaign effort, the high-profile visits are likely to drum up Democratic enthusiasm just before the Republican presidential field arrives in Nevada for the GOP caucuses on Feb. 4.

Oh, and this will be just a week after Vice President Joe Biden's visit to Reno today.

Add all this together, and the big picture looks far less rosy for Mittens. He didn't win the Iowa Caucus, he still may not win the South Carolina Primary, and a Nevada Caucus win still won't mean anything. He still has a tough primary schedule ahead to tackle, and his general election numbers are still lousy. So how again is Mittens "the winner"?

Thanks, G-O-TEA, for Bursting Mittens' Bubble

Rick Santorum must be giddy right now. Instead of suffering an intense media focus on his role in John Ensign's career ending scandal, Mitt Romney just tossed him a reprieve... And a ready-made issue that may yet end Romney's political career. As we've been talking about endlessly here, Romney has a BIG Bain (as in, Bain Capital) problem.

And now, all of a sudden, Newt Gingrich is jumping on it...

“You have to ask the question, is capitalism really about the ability of a handful of rich people to manipulate the lives of thousands of people and then walk off with the money?”

Who said it — Elizabeth Warren? Dennis Kucinich? Noam Chomsky?

Not quite, that was Newt Gingrich talking to reporters at an energy company in Manchester on Monday about his new effort to paint Mitt Romney as a greedy one-percenter who finds “clever legal ways” to go about “looting a company” while screwing over its workers. [...]

The former Speaker is making the case that, in contrast to good old fashioned businesses who make stuff, Romney and his ilk have instead gamed the system to create a soulless machine that profits from the misery of others. Whereas Republicans used to merely whisper that Bain was an electability problem for Romney, Gingrich and other candidates are now openly making the case that the invisible hand has failed to stop corporate raiders from hurting American workers — even as they condemn President Obama as a radical socialist for his rhetoric on Wall Street.

“I am totally for capitalism, I am for free markets,” Gingrich assured reporters on Monday. “Nobody objects to Bill Gates being extraordinarily rich, they provide a service.” What he instead is concerned about is when an investor receives “six-to-one returns, and the company goes bankrupt.”

OUCH! And to add insult to injury...

When you go to South Carolina, that was one of those cities that had a business -- it was a photo album and a framing business. And those people are out of work today after Bain Capital basically gut the company. Took $20 million of profit out of it and people lost their jobs. There is a steel manufacturer here in South Carolina. Mitt Romney will have a hard time coming into South Carolina and have the people here think he's anything but a rich Wall Streeter that took advantage of their businesses. People lost their jobs, they lost their pensions, they lost a lot.

The bottom line for Bain was making money. It wasn't about helping the people of South Carolina or trying to keep these people employed. The idea that Mitt stood up and said he's worried about pink slips. This is probably one of the richest people ever to run for president of the United States. Son of a multi-millionaire. An individual -- Mitt Romney has never worried about pink slip. He might have worried about not having enough of them to hand out. But he's not worried about losing his job.

Whoops. I guess Mittens really does have a growing problem on his hands.

And you know what's really funny here? In their zeal for attacking Mittens and destroying his Presidential aspirations, they're actually doing a good job in articulating why their own G-O-TEA policies have failed America. No really, think about it.

Who's been making noise about "vulture capitalists" like Mitt Romney for the last 30 years? And who's been trying to get Americans to realize the consequences of deregulation and "supply side" mayhem? And who's been offering alternative economic policies that really work in creating jobs and providing more stability?

And now, it's none other than the Republican clown car circus of candidates themselves that are reminding Americans of why President Obama deserves reelection. Thank you, G-O-TEA. And I actually mean it. ;-)

By the Way, Did You Notice Brian Sandoval Jumping the Shark?

Hmmm... Our kinda-sorta-still-new Gube hadn't been in the headlines lately. Was this his chance to jump into the national spotlight so he can bask in the Beltway media pundit glow? Perhaps, but Brian Sandoval also has some very important questions to answer.

I know he likes what Rick Perry did to cut down Jim Gibbons early last year. Does he also like Rick Perry's plan to end Medicare and Social Security? For all of Brian Sandoval's efforts to paint himself as "moderate", is he now ready to toss that aside to embrace someone who actually wants to undercut the legacy of "The Holiest of Holy Ones, Saint Ronnie the Gipper"?



This is Rick Perry:



And this is how ridiculous Rick Perry's campaign is:



And this is who Brian Sandoval wants to be our next President? Really? Rick Perry?

Regardless of the internal politics of why Sandoval endorsed Perry, he can no longer deny he wants nothing to do with "the TEA party agenda" when he endorsed the very embodiment of "TEA party" principles... Even when he contradicts himself on his own (GOVERNMENT!!!) role in creating jobs.

And contrast this with this crowd in North Carolina today.



We'll have to see how this will actually benefit Sandoval (if at all).

Why "The J Word" Matters

Yesterday, US Labor Secretary Hilda Solis came here to Las Vegas to explain how the American Jobs Act will make an impact on Nevada's beleaguered economy once passed.

President Obama’s jobs plan would have a significant positive effect on Southern Nevada’s economy by putting construction laborers back to work, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said today in Las Vegas.

Solis met with the Las Vegas Sun editorial board following an appearance before the Laborers’ International Union of North America at Paris Las Vegas.

Solis said she expects Obama’s $447 billion jobs plan, unveiled to a joint session of Congress on Thursday and detailed in a bill sent to legislators today, to garner bipartisan support because it uses ideas from both sides of the political aisle.

“Economists say anywhere from 1 million to 1.9 million workers in the construction industry (would be put to work),” Solis said. “That would have an immediate impact on places like Nevada, particularly here (in Las Vegas) where the housing boom was the hardest hit.”

Obama’s proposal includes tax breaks for small businesses, economic stimulus programs and a national infrastructure “bank” to fund roads, bridges, airports, seaports, railways, refineries and to upgrade schools. The president has proposed reducing tax deductions, modifying entitlement programs and increasing taxes on the most wealthy to pay for those programs.

It's a broad ranging piece of legislation that tackles job creation from multiple angles...



Yet House Republicans are already set to reject it and start another possible government shutdown melodrama, even as some progressive Democrats in the House are complaining that it isn't enough. However, one prominent voice in DC rose to say something that Congressional Republicans really did not want to hear.

"If policymakers want to achieve both a short-term economic boost and long-term fiscal sustainability the combination of policies that would be most effective according to our analysis would be changes in taxes and spending that would widen the deficit today, but narrow it in the coming decade," [Congressional Budget Office chief Doug] Elmendorf told the panel's 12 Democrats and Republicans. "The combination of fiscal policies that would be most effective would be policies that cut taxes or increase spending in the near-term, but over the medium and longer-term move in the opposite direction."

This is a generalized version of precisely what President Obama is proposing -- a $447 billion jobs bill that will increase spending on hiring programs, and reduce payroll taxes; accompanied by deficit reduction measures that take effect in 2013, to more than cover the cost of the jobs bill.

As we've talked about before, "austerity" does nothing but harm fragile economies in need of investment to recover and grow again. Yet even as top IMF economists point this out to the world, this is what we hear from the Republicans seeking to defeat President Obama next year.





Cheering on the deaths of the uninsured? Arguing over the value of Social Security? And while the Republicans keep playing in "Tea Party Fantasyland", a record 46.2 million Americans were hit by poverty last year. If there is ever a time to shift into overdrive to focus on job creation and put money in people's pockets again, it's now. But instead of offering any credible ideas on that, Rick Perry, Mitt Romney, and their enablers on Capitol Hill would rather obsess over "Tea Party" fantasies that would further destroy America's middle class, like ending Social Security and scrapping health care reform. (No wonder why Perry's and Romney's poll numbers are dropping like rocks!)

This is the great disconnect. For far too long, it seemed like far too many policy makers in The Beltway were obsessing over issues that "Middle America" couldn't care less about while they were out of work and asking where the jobs are. But while President Obama is reaching out to "Middle America" to explain what the American Jobs Act will do to help them get the work they need to rejoin the middle class, Republicans yet again seem to care more about pleasing teabaggers than actually doing their job.

Mitt Romney Used My Community as Backdrop, But He (& His Fellow GO-TEA Hopefuls) Won't Do Anything to Help Us

Earlier this week, Mitt Romney used North Las Vegas as his backdrop as he laid out his "jobs plan". So what is Mitt Romney's "jobs plan", exactly?

“The fundamental problem in today’s economy is that there’s not enough demand,” says David Madland, an economist at the liberal Center for American Progress. In fact, our corporations are sitting on mountains of cash and corporate profits are near record levels, but they’re not hiring because they have no confidence that customers — you and me — feel economically secure enough to make purchases.

This is not some wild-eyed liberal theory. Conservative economists say it too.

“Businesses have responded negatively to the weakness of household demand,” Martin Feldstein, a former chairman of Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisers, recently wrote.

In other words, companies have the money to hire but aren’t going to because they see consumers who are out of work or nervously hoarding instead of spending.

So what does Romney propose? A cut in the corporate tax rate, naturally.

More corporate tax cuts? Really? Even though corporate tax rates are the lowest they've been in 60 years (lower than they were under "LIB'RUL!!!" Republican Presidents Eisenhower, Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Bush, Sr.!), that has done nothing to stimulate the economy and create jobs. Even Romney himself hasn't had any success at implementing his own vision of "no taxes" and "no guv'mint", as Massachusetts government employment grew twice as quickly as private sector jobs while he was Governor.

So what was the whole point of this? It would cost at least $6.5 trillion, so it would drive up the deficit even further without creating any jobs to merit it. So why do this? Has teabagger madness overtaken Romney?

It's funny in a very sick way to see Romney do this in the state that's already tried this very policy prescription... AND FAILED! As I wrote back in May:

For far too long, we have been told to "suck it up" and "celebrate the free market". Look where that has taken us. Even though we have the cheapest state government and one of the lowest tax burdens in the nation, we have the highest unemployment rate in the nation and an economy unraveling due to casinos investing more offshore and the real estate bubble bursting. The Nevada "success story" of the past has been found to be just a mirage, an illusion, a trick.

So now Mitt Romney wants to take our "success" at economic failure, and make it federal policy? It's increasingly clear that "TEA Party Economics" just doesn't work. We've already seen the effects here in Nevada, and Romney's BFFs here have already been getting plenty of heat for it.

So what works? Infrastructure. And thankfully, President Obama and a few members of Congress understand this.



Our infrastructure is becoming woefully inadequate, and this may be a real opportunity for America to finally fix that while also creating jobs.

Back in January 2010, former Federal Communications Commission chairman and current Coalition for Green Capital CEO Reed Hundt spoke at our annual Clean-Tech Investor Summit.

For the past couple of years, Hundt has been working to forward the idea of a national green bank in the U. S. as well as at the state level. His ideas have influenced a host of energy, policy, and business stakeholders, including me.

"To get low cost of capital you can either have the U. S. government guarantee the debt, but no one wants to do that," Hundt explained in a recent phone interview, "or you can set up a public-private bank that has a public-private mission. It seeks to maximize the amount of money invested, not maximize its profit, and it can pursue long-term investments. "

A well-structured infrastructure bank would focus on project deployment, not equity-type investments, via low-cost loans that reward investors via a constant annuity stream (such as the sale of electrons from solar power or savings from energy-efficiency improvements).

And there are even more great ideas for job creation, such as the Jobs21! proposal to create more clean energy jobs throughout the country and reposition America for the 21st century economy.

Compare and contrast this to what we've been seeing from Obama's GOP rivals this week.



What else can I say? And what else do I really have to say?

Mitt Romney: The New Sue Lowden?

Was that the turning point for Mitt Romney? Why does this feel so much like deja vu?



Suzy Lowdown can certainly attest to what happens when "foot-in-mouth disease" combines with loathing from "the base" to make a special brew of ballot box poison.

[Texas Governor] Rick Perry has taken the lead nationally, but GOP voters are really starting to catch on with his campaign in key primary states as well. Recently, Perry's stormed to the front in South Carolina and Iowa in multiple surveys, and a Republican poll out Friday shows him at the top in another early state in the GOP nomination process: Nevada.

A Magellan Strategies poll out Friday showed that Perry is the first choice of 29 percent of [Nevada] GOP caucus-goers, followed by former [Massachusetts Governor] Mitt Romney at 24 percent. The survey shows pretty much a two way race: the rest of the field is in single digits, and former contender Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) is down to fourth with 6 percent, behind businessman Herman Cain's 7. [...]

Romney had held a solid lead in a Public Policy Polling (D) survey of Nevada during early August, when Perry was just about to officially enter the race. But in the following weeks Perry has clearly built up support at the expense of other candidates, like Bachmann. "Looking at responses by voter subgroup, we find male voters and seniors (voters aged 65 or older) leaning heavily towards Rick Perry," reads the Magellan memo on the Nevada poll. "Among self-identified tea party 'members,' which make up 49% of all respondents, Rick Perry has a 20 point lead over Mitt Romney."

Ruh roh.

Romney was depending on a big Nevada Caucus win as part of his "firewall strategy". Iowa is already turning out to be a real hell in a hand basket situation for him, and South Carolina is increasingly looking as good as gone for poor lil' rich guy Mittens. Romney's whole campaign has been built on him being "inevitable", but his "inevitability" is falling like a house of cards. And all of a sudden, he has nothing else to stand on... Except for his mountains of money, that is.

Again, Sweet Sue can attest to being stood up by "Tea Party, Inc." when the "inevitable", "electable" one gets sidelined by "The Real Deal"... As in real batsh*t crazy. It's becoming increasingly obvious that the teabaggers control today's GOP, and they're not really interested in milquetoast.



Ricky, meet Sharrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrron.



Mittens may have the GOP establishment on his side, but so did Suzy... And look what happened to her. Teabaggers demand purity, and Rick Perry is doing his darndest to give them exactly that... Just like Sharron Angle did.

Of course, voters in the general election will probably respond quite differently, especially since that electorate has been changing dramatically in the last 20 years.

[...T]here is a real danger that Republican leaders and strategists will interpret a strong showing in the midterm election as vindication for a strategy based largely on energizing the Party’s conservative white base. That base is indeed energized. But it is also shrinking due to the steady growth in the size of the nonwhite electorate. By 2020 nonwhites will probably make up over a third of the American electorate.

Unless Republicans can expand their support among nonwhite voters, they will have to win a much larger share of the white vote than they have in any recent presidential election in order to remain competitive. However, increasing the Republican share of the nonwhite vote would require the GOP to move closer to the ideological center on issues such as government services, health care and immigration—a shift that would be certain to arouse intense opposition from conservative pundits and activists. Regardless of what happens in this year’s midterm elections, Republican leaders will soon face a difficult choice between reaching out to nonwhite voters or continuing to cater to their Party’s shrinking base.

Yes, Republicans, keep running further and further to the radical right. This is definitely your ticket to victory (for Democrats).

By the way, Justin explains this even better.

The results of a Magellan Strategies poll has Rick Perry leading Mitt Romney by 5% in the Nevada 2012 Republican Presidential Caucus. With Mitt Romney winning Nevada in 2008 (neighbor to Utah and home to many Mormons), these results are a little surprising. What do these results tell us about Nevada Republicans and their chances of winning in 2012?

In 2010, Nevada Republicans chose Sharron Angle, by popular vote, to run against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. The Nevada GOP has already shown us that they prefer the extreme to the electable. This poll, a little over a year later, indicates little has changed. No lesson learned.

Harry Reid’s approval ratings in Nevada were much lower than Obama’s ever have been. Yet he was able to defeat Sharron Angle. So if Rick Perry (who probably even scares Sharron Angle a little bit) wins in a Nevada Republican Presidential Caucus, President Obama’s 2012 reelection bid is looking pretty good.

No wonder why President Obama isn't panicking too much over today's toxic political environment.

Sharrrrrrrrrrrrron Angle: She's Baaaaaaaaaack! (And She's NOT Alone!)

(Also at Daily Kos)



Apparently "Our Lady of Perpetual Campaigning" invaded California on Saturday to sell her books and raise money for her next campaign "meet with real patriots!"

And if that wasn't bad enough, their lousy attempt at Vaudeville comedy got even worse once they returned to Nevada (to torture us yet again!).

The Tea Party Express continued its cross-country tour Sunday with a midday rally in the heart of Nevada that featured about a dozen speakers and musicians focused on "reclaiming America" in the 2012 election.

Headlining the event was Sharron Angle, who lost to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., in 2010. Angle is traveling with the bus tour and is expected to speak at most of the events along the way.

The Elko Daily Free Press reported that Angle told the crowd of about 75 people -- organizers pegged the crowd at closer to 100 people -- that the Republicans will take control of the U.S. Senate after the 2012 elections if people get involved in races around the country.

Tea Party Express communications director Levi Russell said the event was a success, especially considering that it was held on a Sunday.

"It was a small crowd, but enthusiastic," he said.

"We're happy that they came out to hear our message."

Other speakers included Amy Kremer, Tea Party Express co-chair, and Tabitha Hale of the Washington, D.C.-based conservative group FreedomWorks.

There's no word yet on whether Elko saw the same "colorful characters" that emerged in Searchlight last year...



But it does look like their "Tea Party Express" is losing steam on the open road. Now that we're seeing with our own eyes their strategy coming to full fruition as federal government becomes even more chaotic and dysfunctional, they're not seen as innocently as they were last year.

It seems that the Tea Party's governing style, most clearly on display during the debt ceiling fight in Congress, has taken a toll on Americans' view of the movement. Polls have been showing a drop in its approval, and a new AP/GfK poll shows that its unfavorable rating has seen a sharp rise. 46 percent of those surveyed said they have a negative view of the Tea Party movement, versus 28 who say they view it favorability.

The last time the AP conducted a national poll on Americans' favorability of Tea Partiers was in their pre-governing period: throughout 2010 the conservative movement was viewed slightly unfavorably but the splits were close. In June of 2010 it even earned a positive rating, with 33 percent of over 1,000 adults surveyed finding the movement favorable against 30 percent. In the last AP rating, taken Nov. 3-8, 2010, directly after the 2010 election, the split stood at a slim negative rating of 32 percent favorable against 36 unfavorable.

But can "unpopularity" really stop them? Remember when Sharrrrrrrrrrrrrron was pummeled for this?



She herself didn't win here in Nevada, but her "ideas" masquerading as "change" most certainly did win in other parts of the country. Look at how much President Obama and Congress have had to give in to them, and look at what we're getting in return. Economic recovery has been anemic at best, and the still jobless aren't seeing any of it. And when the American people are demanding job creation the most, all we're seeing out of Congress now is endless partisan brinksmanship and attacks on bedrocks of American society, such as Social Security and Medicare, that working class families need the most right now.

And of course, the Republican Presidential Candidates are tossing out all this teabagger nonsense as red meat to an increasingly radical and extreme "base". Watch Rick Perry call Social Security a "ponzi scheme" and a "lie".



How is this different from what Sharrrrrrrrrrrrrrrron said?



For Republicans, extremism has become "the new mainstream". Here in Nevada last year, a slew of powerful Nevada Republicans ran away from Angle as fast as they could. Yet other than a few traditional Republicans like Ben Bernanke chiding their extremism, Rick Perry and his ideological soulmates in Congress are seeing more and more love from that radical "base". And despite what all the rest of us think about their crashing and burning of government, they don't care as long as the teabaggers love it and "Tea Party, Inc." keeps pumping the dirty corporate money into their campaigns.

I saw this for myself last weekend. My Congressman refuses to meet with us, his own constituents, because we're not contributing to his campaign and the Republican Party (even though we pay his and his staffers' salaries!).

And that's why we can't be complacent at all. Public outrage clearly isn't enough to defeat these extremists. They'll probably just buy even more TV and radio air time to try to brainwash voters again "tell their side of the story". Sharron Angle may not be in Congress herself, but her radical ideology is increasingly becoming the policies being debated and implemented in federal government now. If we don't like this, then we have to stop electing her ideological kindred spirits.

Caucus 2012: Nevada Republicans Don't Need No Stinkin' "Organizing"

So yet again, the Nevada GOP just can't catch a lucky break. For all their talk of "revving up operations", they still seem to be generating the enthusiasm reserved for things like wet blankets.

As one Nevada operative put it, the Silver State has emerged as an “ugly stepchild” of sorts in the presidential primary so far, with the traditional early states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina hogging all spotlight. Nevada is scheduled to hold the third primary contest next year after Iowa and New Hampshire.

Compared with Democrats’ caucuses four years ago, Republicans are far behind in fundraising, voter outreach, campaign visits, staffing and party organization — a signal that the GOP caucuses could be a bust.

Working against Nevada Republicans is the absence of a Harry Reid-like figure drawing national attention and donations to the state, a major factor in Democrats’ success four years ago. They also don’t have a built-in organizing force such as labor unions, which also drove caucus attendance for Democrats four years ago.

And although the party is looking to contract with a firm that has experience organizing the Iowa caucuses, it has yet to hire a caucus director or raise enough money to hire such a firm.

Of course, the usual suspects are claiming they don't need organizing. After all, Barack Obama was a community organizer, so organizing must be evil and "LIB'RUL!!!" Rather, they're counting on "momentum"... You know, "momentum" of the Sharrontology variety. And now, it looks like that's exactly what they'll be getting.





Even prominent DC Republicans are freaking out over Rick Perry and his dangerously radical platform that includes abolishing Medicare & Social Security, as well as bankrupting the entire federal government!

Rick & Sharrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrron, sitting in a tree...





And Nevada Republicans really think a Rick Perry vs. Mitt Romney caucus contest will be so great for them? Okey dokey. And I have some land on Las Vegas Boulevard South that I want to sell to them.