Actions Speak Louder Than Words.

Last week, we looked at the increasingly evident failure of the Republican Party's "rebranding campaign". Even as party "leaders" have attempted to "soften their image" and "change the optics" of the Republican brand, the 21st Century Know Nothings have been pulling G-O-TEA politicians in the opposite direction. And so far, it looks like the 21st Century Know Nothings have the upper hand.

Case in point: Sharron Angle. She refuses to go away. Instead, she's become the de facto leader of Nevada Republicans. And now that she's hawking a brand new voter ID voter suppression initiative, Nevada Republicans will have an even harder time trying to convince minority voters that they "care about all Nevadans" and actually care about earning their votes. Why bother with that when Sharron Angle can just prevent them from voting in the first place?

And that brings us back to Sue Wagner. Her departure from the Republican Party should serve as a wake-up call. Once upon a time, she was considered to be the rising star most likely to become Nevada's first female Governor. But now, she's just another example of Republicans' rebranding FAIL.

On Tuesday, Republican "leaders" were hoping that Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers' (R-Washington) "official Republican response" (as opposed to all the other ones) would help quell all the talk of their party's "rebranding" failure. Instead, it's been overshadowed by this Republican response.



Rep. Michael Grimm's shocking, violent confrontation of a reporter has not just turned the media's attention to Grimm's own troubled past, but also to the Republican Party's troubled present. This week was supposed to be all about the "new face of the party". Yet ironically enough, the "new faces" shown this week look an awful lot like the old ones we've come to recognize.

This week, the usual crew of "Republican leaders" are claiming their party is not trying to shove some crazed Culture War down Americans' throats, the critical mass of their own party continue to prove the opposite. After all, actions speak louder than words.

Justin Time

Normally, we don't wade into stories like this one. But today, we must. Why? You'll understand later.

Last week, the world was shocked when Miami Beach police arrested Justin Bieber for drag racing (obviously not the legal kind!), drunk driving, and driving without a license. While many people weren't shocked by another incident of "Bieber Behaving Badly", they were shocked by the emerging possibility of Justin Bieber facing deportation. Wait... What??!!

No really, it's a possibility. While it's not looking likely just yet, that equation may change depending on how many criminal offenses the young pop star is convicted of. And why is that? He's a Canadian citizen who's living in the US on a special work visa mean for immigrants with "special talent(s) in the performing arts". And now, President Obama will have to answer a petition on WhiteHouse.gov calling for Bieber's deportation.

In case you haven't figured it out yet, here's where we pivot back to important policy. While the growing debate over Justin Bieber has brought more attention to Justin Bieber, it's also managed to return attention to the one issue House Speaker John Boehner (R-Sunny D) has tried so hard to spin far away from Capitol Hill. This is the same issue that President Obama brought to attention (again) during his State of the Union address last night.



And this is the same issue that G-O-TEA backbenchers like Rep. Joe Heck (R-Remember That Dude?) have been attempting to have both ways on. They've said they want reform. But when push comes to shove, they quickly run away to their favorite political "safe place"... You know, somewhere like good ol' "BENGHAZIEEEEEEEE!!!!!"

But now, this actually important issue is back at center stage. And to a certain extent, we can thank Justin Bieber for it. (Snark?)

Here's what's so jarring about what's happening this week. Justin Bieber isn't in jail now, unlike the many immigrants who are sent to Henderson Detention Center for less severe charges. And he has a very expensive and juiced-up legal team representing him in court, unlike the many immigrants who can't afford any legal representation. And he's a celebrity who easily commands media attention, unlike the millions of American families who live in constant fear of being torn apart.

While it's unclear how much more executive power President Obama can wield over immigration policy, it's crystal clear that the G-O-TEA run House has failed to do what most House members probably support, the vast majority of Americans definitely support, the Senate already passed last year, and the President wants to sign into law this year.

So what's the wait? When will be a better time to finally get this done? However one feels about Justin Bieber, it's critical to remember that his legal saga only touches the surface of the mountain of reasons why Congress can't avoid comprehensive immigration reform.

Troubled State of Their Disunion

Once upon a time, the State of Nevada elected its very first female Lieutenant Governor. Her name was Sue Wagner. And she had previously made history HERstory by working across the aisle on a number of issues affecting women & children during her service in the Nevada Legislature.

Unfortunately, Sue Wagner's political career was cut short just as it was starting to take off. Why? She was a victim of a horrifying plane crash near Fallon on Labor Day in 1990. Though she survived that crash and was elected Lt. Governor later that fall, her subsequent health problems prevented her from running for elected office again.

But now, Sue Wagner is making headlines and rocking Nevada's political scene yet again. How so? This time, it's for different reasons. And this time, it's due to the (failing) health of the Republican Party.

Just as President Obama was giving his State of the Union speech last night, the Reno Gazette Journal's Ray Hagar dropped this bomb from Sue Wagner.

Wagner, 73, registered as a nonpartisan voter a few days ago and said she’ll miss is voting in the primary election.

Wagner said she has grown tired of the GOP’s shift to the far right.

“I did it as a symbol, I guess, that I do not like the Republican Party and what they stand for today,” Wagner said. “I’ve been a Republican all my life. My dad was active (in the GOP) in the state of Maine where I was born. It was more of a moderate, liberal Republican Party.”

“It’s grown so conservative and tea-party orientated and I just can’t buy into that,” Wagner said. “I’ve left the Republican Party and it’s left me, at the same time.”

And speaking of the State of the Union, Republicans tried to spin away their own War on Women with a response from Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Washington). And how did that go? Let's just say that in the future, we'll probably be talking more about last night's other Republican responses.

And then, there's this "pre-buttal response" to the Republican responses from Former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman (R). She didn't even try mincing words when she described the troubled state of her party.

It's hard for me to phrase this politely. Sometimes Republicans think that just putting a woman up front means somehow that women are going to feel good about the party. It is not about the messenger. It's about the message. And until we figure that one out, while it's nice that we have a woman as a spokesperson, if the message itself doesn't get changed a bit, it's not going to work. But I think it is an attempt to say we've got prominent, articulate women, and she will certainly fill that role. And that's great. But that's not going to be enough to win over women at the polls. [...]

We should stop doing things like putting up another anti-abortion thing, and constantly trying to fight against the ability under the new healthcare law to provide birth control for women. If we really care about less government, let's get them out of the bedroom. Let's not say things like, “A woman's libido needs to have government there to help control it.” That kind of thing just reaffirms a sort of condescending attitude toward women.

Ouch.

Oh, and here's another big ouch. In 1990, Sue Wagner led the fight for Question 7, which sealed in place Nevada's abortion laws. And in 1995, national Republicans tapped then-Governor Christine Todd Whitman to deliver the Republican response to then-President Bill Clinton's State of the Union address. Would today's Republican Party allow such prominent roles for outspoken, pro-choice, non-"TEA" drinking women as Christine Todd Whitman, Sue Wagner, Dema Guinn, and Dawn Gibbons?

Both Wagner and Whitman remind us of the real problem facing today's Republican Party. And no, it can't be solved by simply tapping some woman to deliver one of the Republican #SOTU responses. (Nowadays, Republicans have several of them.) Rather, it's a severe policy problem in need of a serious policy answer.

Most Americans may very well soon forget what Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers said last night. However, it will be much harder for Americans to forget what Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee said last week about "Uncle Sugar", "libido", and contraception.



And why is that? Just look at what Republicans in Congress continue wasting their time on. And no matter how often they take to the media to deny their War on Women, they continue waging war on women by advancing extreme anti-choice policies. And they only make their own matters worse by provoking fights over issues like the definition of rape and working mothers.

Once upon a time, women like Sue Wagner had a place to call home in the Republican Party. Now, they don't. And if Republicans continue to ignore the troubled state of their disunion, they're doomed to make it even worse.

Step Into the Future

We've said this before. And we'll say this again today. In order to solve the great crises that climate change, we must start with some simple steps.

Perhaps President Obama has been thinking about this. Last night, he surprised many media pundits with his climate proposals during his State of the Union address.



The President aggressively defended his administration's new rules on power plant emissions, then vowed to step up his administration's fuel efficiency standards for trucks. And he flat out rejected the climate denialism that continues to pollute the halls of Congress. The President made it clear that America can't afford to waste any more time trying to dismiss proven science, and that our time will be much better spent pursuing a smarter energy future.

So what about that smarter energy future? Will the President's plan live up to last night's hype? Well, it's complicated. While he indeed made a cogent case for climate action last night, he also somewhat negated his own message by reiterating his support for an "all of the above" strategy.

Can we truly afford "all of the above"? The US is currently ranked 43rd in the world in climate policy effectiveness. Last year was one of the hottest on record. And the UN Climate Chief has recently declared global renewable energy investment must triple in order to meet global greenhouse has emissions targets. Can we truly afford an "all of the above" strategy that includes dirty fossil fuels?

Contrary to inaccurate media reports, the renewable energy sector is humming along quite well. If anything, the fossil fuel industry keeps running into more trouble. So why continue propping it up with an "all of the above" strategy and with rules that favor fossil fuel conglomerates over renewables?

Instead of "all of the above", we need the best of the above. And that means we must invest more in the energy of the future. That also means we must be more efficient with the energy we already have.

Overall, this administration has made progress on climate change. It's even managed to do so despite a recalcitrant Congress. It would be horrifically tragic if that progress is offset by additional efforts to "Drill Baby Drill" into the dark money pit of fossil fuels. We need to finally break from that dirty past and step into the future.

Tonight's Challenge

It's that time of the year again. We're about to end the first month of the new year. And we're entering the sixth year of Barack Obama's Presidency.

So of course, we will all be treated to another State of the Union address. So what will be in tonight's speech? And what should President Obama say to Congress & to the American people?

Does the President need to directly confront Republican "leaders" over their record of indulging G-O-TEA obstruction fantasies? Does he need to "go big" and offer bold policy proposals that will probably never pass through this Congress? Or does he need to go beyond just the reputation of the 113th Congress?

Every so often, we're reminded that economic inequality remains a serious problem. And not only is it just any problem, but it's a particularly dangerous threat to the future of this nation. Why? Our economy is built on the foundation of a solid middle class. Without that, we've lost the foundation.

And now, that foundation is more unstable than ever before. And even more attacks to that foundation lie ahead. As Congress continues to tear into the very social safety net meant to keep Americans out of poverty, more Americans are now at risk of falling deep into poverty.

To be fair, not all the news on this front is bad. Thanks to Obamacare (aka the ACA), the poorest Americans will see their incomes rise due to health care savings. Lower unemployment obviously means more people are working today (than during the depths of the Great Recession 5 years ago). Hard fought tax reform in recent years is resulting in a more progressive tax system. And if President Obama indeed vows to raise the minimum wage for federal contractors, that will help in reducing extreme poverty & inequality.

Still, there's far more to do to restore the foundation of America's economy... And the American people's trust in it. That's tonight's challenge for the President. Can he rise to this occasion?

More #SOTU

7:40 PM: Shorter Marco Rubio: "OBAMA SUCKS!!!"

So that's the Republican response. Oh, that and putting "middle class" in front of policies meant to destroy the middle class. And this is supposed to be "Republicans' rising star". Oh, and he also apparently is OK with violence against women.

7:59 PM: Here's Ed Kilgore on what we just witnessed.

I thought speech clever in how he handled challenge to GOP; very Clintonian in policy offerings (and better than past SOTUs); and pretty good at taking advantage of areas where public opinion pretty much already on his side. Minimum wage increase good example: Republican pols and business leaders hate it, public loves it. [...]

But while Obama’s speech probably won’t move public opinion mountains, and he may have been a mite subtle in calling out the GOP, it was a strong performance that left Republicans looking either clueless (Rubio) or uncomfortable (Boehner). On the big issues, Obama and Democrats were already playing from a stronger hand, and he strengthened it on a pretty broad front tonight.

President Obama's speech clocked in at exactly one hour. And in that hour, he addressed the very issues on the top of most Americans' minds. He evoked the broad consensus among the American people on gun safety, immigration reform, economic justice, climate change, civil rights, and more.

In a funny way, Marco Rubio served as the perfect foil. He just seemed to throw a temper tantrum because Republicans lost last November. And he attacked essentially an artificial straw man of the President. And he used occasionally pretty language to conceal some ugly and unpopular policies, like gutting Medicare and protecting "billionaire bailouts".

Need I say more? Well, I will tomorrow morning.

8:18 PM: Meanwhile in Southern California, an update on Christopher Dorner.

A body was found inside the burned-out cabin Tuesday night where Christopher Jordan Dorner was believed to have kept law enforcement authorities at bay before officers fired tear gas into the structure, a source told The Times.

The body, which was found in the charred rubble of the mountainside cabin, was not positively identified, the source said. The process of determining whether the body is that of the former Los Angeles Police Department officer could take hours or even days, the source said.

As authorities moved into the cabin earlier Tuesday, they heard a single gunshot.

It will likely take days to definitively identify this body, but there are clearly already strong suspicions as to what happened.

Again, it was so jarring to see this story unfold just as President Obama was about to enter Congress. Yet it reinforced what President Obama had to say on gun safety. Dorner may have accumulated his weapons here in Nevada. At the very least, there's evidence suggesting he purchased dangerous accessories like suppressors at Lock N' Load here in Henderson.

However Dorner got his assault weapons, he used them to kill four people and injure three more. The entire nation was reminded again of what happens when dangerous and deadly weapons fall into the wrong hands. And this comes on the heels of the Newtown tragedy where Adam Lanza killed 20 children and 6 adults with an AR-15 assault weapon in December. And yet, the Assault Weapons Ban is "controversial" on Capitol Hill? President Obama clearly wants to change this calculus.

And perhaps tonight can change that. It rests on Congress. And it ultimately rests on the people. What will the people do to make their Members of Congress act on gun violence prevention?

#SOTU Open Thread

5:50 PM:

This certainly isn't your typical State of the Union night. President Obama is speaking right on the heels of the epic final battle in Big Bear, California, between Christopher Dorner and law enforcement. Two San Bernardino County Sheriffs were shot earlier today. One died, while the other is still alive and undergoing surgery in a nearby hospital. Meanwhile, the cabin that Dorner was occupying is burning to the ground as I write. It's unclear yet whether Dorner himself is dead or alive.

Obviously, everyone will be awaiting what President Obama says on gun safety. However, that won't be the entirety of his speech. Obama will also be calling for jobs programs and more economic recovery, as well as for action on climate change and comprehensive immigration reform (CIR).

Stay tuned here for more updates on #SOTU, as well as for any new updates on the Dorner case in Southern California.

6:00 PM: Notice all the green ribbons in the House chamber? They're honoring victims of gun violence. It's especially poignant tonight considering what's still unfolding in Southern California.

6:20 PM: The President is starting with a conciliatory tone in stating his willingness to be a "partner in progress" with Congress. He's also noting recent economic improvement, as well as the end of the Iraq & Afghanistan Wars. And of course, he says the state of our union is strong.

6:22 PM: And here it is. The President is talking about "restoring the middle class. It's our task to make sire this government is working for the many... & opens the doors of opportunity to all our children." The President is hitting hard on economic justice... & hinting at his strategy to fend off threats of double dip recession.

While Obama touts recent deficit reduction, he also wants economic growth. Simply put, this is why we can't afford "The Sequester", aka Fiscal Cliff 2.0. It's imperative on Congress to stop the austerity madness.

6:27 PM: Obama is trying to thread the needle on Medicare & Social Security. He says he's open to reform, but he won't accept hurting seniors in need. Progressives will probably remain on the edge of their seats as Congress keeps wrangling over "The Sequester"... And Medicare & Social Security are still on the table.

6:29 PM: And here come taxes. Obama demands more revenue and fewer synthentic fiscal crises. Again, if we have to pursue deficit reduction, we must be careful in doing so while the economy is still in early stages of recovery. And the super-rich are the ones who can most afford to pay for it.

"Deficit reduction alone is not an economic plan."

6:33 PM: President Obama is talking about the real deficit problem we still face: the jobs deficit. He wants to continue beefing up manufacturing here in America. And he's promoting scientific research! Yes, it works. And you know what? It also helps the economy.

Again, we can't afford austerity.

6:35 PM: Yay, energy time! But boo, fossil fuels.

Oh yay, he says, "We must do more to combat climate change." So what will we do? He offers an olive branch to one-time rival John McCain on cap-and-trade. Remember when Republicans liked that?

But if Congress won't act, the President must do something. And Obama is promising that. He's offering executive action on expediting renewable energy programs, an "energy security trust", and some sort of carbon cap should Congress decline to implement a cap-and-trade system.

6:42 PM: "We can get this done". That's what President Obama said on infrastructure repair & reinvestment. That will be nice. Check out our roads, our libraries, our schools, and more. We need it. Oh, & we need jobs!

6:45 PM: "The sooner a child begins learning, the better he or she does down the road."

Ah, universal pre-school. I'm down with that... But are #NVLeg & Brian Sandoval? They've yet to agree on universal kindergarten.

But really, more education tends to mean less crime and less poverty. If we're serious about crime prevention and economic empowerment, we need to do better in supporting our schools.

6:48 PM: Obama also talks about higher education. He wants to reform the Higher Ed Act so that the feds consider affordability of colleges when determining federal funding.

6:50 PM: And now, #CIR! Obama again demands reform... Including a "responsible path to earned citizenship". He again shouts out bipartisan efforts in Congress to tackle this issue. Will they take kindly?

He's also addressing the Violence Against Women Act, the Paycheck Fairness Act, & ending the overall War on Women. See, he hasn't forgotten.

6:54 PM: Here, Obama returns to economic justice. He calls for investment in hard hit (by the recession & decades of neglect) communities. And in a surprising twist, he also calls on a raise in the federal minimum wage to $9 per hour. When was the last time we heard poverty discussed in a State of the Union speech?

7:00 PM: In the foreign policy portion, Obama talks North Korea, arms reduction, drones, bringing home 34,000 troops from Afghanistan, and continuing to support flourishing "Arab Spring" democracies.

7:07 PM: In discussing the military, Obama shouts out #DADT repeal and equal service for women. The military is (again) becoming a catalyst for civil rights.

7:10 PM: Obama also shouts out the fundamental right to vote. Remember that? And remember all those efforts to block people from voting?

7:15 PM: Obama is closing with gun safety. Obama is hitting all the major policy points: assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, gun trafficking, and background checks. He evokes Hadiya Pendleton in Chicago, along with the 20 kids of Newtown. And Gabby Giffords & Tucson.

"They deserve a simple vote. Our actions will not prevent every senseless violent act in this country... But we weren't sent here to be perfect. We were sent here to do what we can... We were sent here to look out for our fellow Americans."

And while he's speaking, Southern California is still reeling from the Christopher Dorner manhunt.

7:17 PM: Obama closed in calling for collective action. And he closed in reminding the audience of our duty to help each other. Again, he evoked economic justice. And he reiterated his drive to solve CIR, gun safety reform, climate change, and more. This was a moving speech, especially considering the saddening backdrop of tonight.

A Chilling Reminder Before #SOTU

As I'm writing this now, the Big Bear standoff continues. Christopher Dorner is apparently barricaded in a cabin there now after shooting two police officers in an earlier gun fight. He likely used semi-automatic rifles, as apparently he began smuggling them after being fired from the Los Angeles Police Department.

Dorner is suspected of murdering two people in Orange County, shooting two Riverside Police Officers & killing one in an armed conflict there, and now shooting two police officers in Big Bear.

Authorities believe Dorner came to the cabin after tying up a couple inside a different cabin off California 38 and stole their white pickup truck Tuesday afternoon. At some point, he engaged in gunfire with California Department of Fish and Wildlife officers who spotted Dorner and attempted to stop the vehicle.

Dorner crashed the truck during the ensuing chase and allegedly exchanged gunfire with the officers as he fled into what appeared to be Martin's cabin, where he was quickly surrounded by San Bernardino sheriff’s deputies. A source said one deputy was struck by a bullet as Dorner fired out of the cabin. A second was injured when Dorner exited the back of the cabin, deployed a smoke bomb and opened fire again in an apparent attempt to flee.

Dorner was driven back inside the cabin, the source said.

The Fish and Wildlife officers were not hurt, authorities said.

There was initial confusion as to where a helicopter should land to evacuate the injured officers, so deputies used their own smoke bombs to provide enough cover to carry the wounded to a pickup truck that took them to the waiting helicopter.

Officers from multiple agencies raced to the scene and continued to surround the cabin. Sources said it was not known if Dorner remained inside or if he fled.

Against this terrifying backdrop, President Obama will be giving his State of the Union Speech. Yet again, Americans are being reminded of the brutal and frightening reality of gun violence throughout the nation. It's just saddening (and maddening) to think of what it's taken to bring this issue to the forefront.

What will the President do to reassure a shaken nation? And what will Congress actually do to solve this problem? We need solutions now more than ever before.

We'll be liveblogging the State of the Union tonight. And tweets will go out @atdleft.

Witness Tonight

Yesterday, Rep. Joe Heck's district office heard from constitutents on gun safety reform.

8 News NOW

Tonight, he will be listening to President Obama making his case for gun safety reform at tonight's State of the Union Address. And not only that, but he will also be seeing several gun violence survivors in the audience. One of them will be Heck's former colleague in Congress, Gabrielle Giffords. Giffords herself as plenty to say about gun violence, and she isn't waiting until tonight.



I've already caught this ad on local cable here. Constituents of Heck, and of Senators Harry Reid & Dean Heller, are seeing this. And they're reminded of the horror of what happened in Tucson just over two years ago. Can we really afford any more of that, or of what happened in Aurora & Newtown last year?

That's not the question that the gun lobby wants us to think about. That's why a NRA lobbyist tried to dismiss current efforts for gun violence prevention as "The Connecticut Effect". You see, it's easier for the NRA to sweep this under the rug when it's just some distant, esoteric, and sterilized philosophical debate. It becomes much more difficult for gun industry lobbyists to defend what they're doing when confronted with actual reality.



Yet that's what's happening today. The gun lobby, along with Members of Congress, must confront reality. Harry Reid, Dean Heller, and Joe Heck must see those who lost loved ones to gun violence tonight. And they must ask themselves if we can go any longer without significant gun safety reform.

#SOTU2012 in Las Vegas

Last night's State of the Union speech was quite the event... But Washington wasn't the only city where fireworks were flying. I was at the Clark County Democratic Party's and Nevada Stonewall Democrats' State of the Union watch party in Downtown Las Vegas. So was Fox 5.



And as you can tell, local Republicans here were upset. OK. What else is new?

Take a look at the photos here. The crowd Downtown clearly wasn't upset. Clearly, the folks inside were fired up and ready to go!







Actually, the excitement began on Saturday, when over 12,000 Democrats caucused. And considering this was technically uncontested (President Obama won over 98% of delegates available), it's quite impressive compared to both the Republican (which was also uncontested) AND Democratic (which WAS contested!) Caucuses of 2004. The base turned out, and the base is getting excited.

And plenty of local Democratic luminaries turned out for the festivities. NV-01 candidate Dina Titus, SD 11 candidate Aaron Ford, AD 21 candidate Steve Parke, Las Vegas Municipal Judge candidate Jerry Tao, and Nevada State Democratic Party Executive Director Zach Zaragoza were among the heavy hitters who joined Clark County Democratic leaders and Stonewall members for this special event. But again, look at the above video and photos. The room wasn't mostly full of politicians. The room was filled with everyday grassroots activists who truly breathe life into the party.

And that's what made last night extra special.

Taxing Times

He definitely went there last night.

Romney has raised eyebrows for opposing the auto-industry bailout. In his address, Obama chided, “[s]ome even said we should let it die.” This is largely true of many Republicans in Congress, who could not bring themselves to applaud a proposal to reverse tax incentives that encourage outsourcing and discourage repatriating jobs to the U.S.

Where Romney has called for allowing the foreclosure crisis to run its course, Obama said that “responsible homeowners shouldn’t have to sit and wait for the housing market to hit bottom to get some relief,” before introducing a mortgage modification plan to Congress that will give “every responsible homeowner the chance to save about $3,000 a year…by refinancing at historically low interest rates,” which was met with silence by the GOP.

Perhaps most famously, Romney has suggested that public appeals for addressing inequality and bringing equity to the tax code evince envy on the part of advocates who have pressed those issues into the national dialogue.

“When Americans talk about folks like me paying my fair share of taxes, it’s not because they envy the rich,” Obama retorted. “It’s because they understand that when I get tax breaks I don’t need and the country can’t afford, it either adds to the deficit, or somebody else has to make up the difference - like a senior on a fixed income; or a student trying to get through school; or a family trying to make ends meet.”

All in all, President Obama laid out an aggressive vision of progressive solutions for America. He wants to ensure the super-rich who earn over $1,000,000 a year pay at least 30% income tax. (Remember, Mitt Romney paid only 13.9% on his $21.6 million in 2010 income!) He also proposed eliminating tax breaks for shutting down US factories, renewing investment in clean energy, making mortgage refinancing more accessible to more distressed homeowners, making college more affordable to more students, and even more. And by reforming the broken tax code and ending the wars we've been mired in the last decade (Iraq is over, and hopefully Afghanistan will end soon), we can easily afford this.

Last night, the President made an important point. When the super-rich, like Mitt Romney, avoid paying the taxes they're supposed to be paying, they're essentially stealing from America. When Mitt Romney hides some of his money in Swiss bank accounts to avoid paying taxes, he's taking away from seniors trying to pay for their prescription drugs. When Mitt Romney throws some of his money into investment funds based in the Cayman Islands, he's taking away from college students trying to keep up with their tuition. And when Mitt Romney tries to hide behind capital gains tax rates that allow him and other super-rich folks to pay less in income taxes than struggling formerly middle class families, he's taking away from those families as they're doing everything possible to stay afloat.

Take another look at what the President said last night.

Tax reform should follow the Buffett rule: If you make more than $1 million a year, you should not pay less than 30 percent in taxes…Now, you can call this class warfare all you want. But asking a billionaire to pay at least as much as his secretary in taxes? Most Americans would call that common sense.

We don’t begrudge financial success in this country. We admire it. When Americans talk about folks like me paying my fair share of taxes, it’s not because they envy the rich. It’s because they understand that when I get tax breaks I don’t need and the country can’t afford, it either adds to the deficit, or somebody else has to make up the difference – like a senior on a fixed income; or a student trying to get through school; or a family trying to make ends meet. That’s not right. Americans know it’s not right.

It's not right... But it's not stopping the G-O-TEA from continuing to make excuses for it. Yet no matter how much Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich try to paper over their "legal" tax evasion, it's nonetheless tax evasion that takes away from what makes America great. It's about time we do something to fix this. We can't wait any more.

#SOTU2012 Liveblog

Tonight, I'll be liveblogging President Obama's State of the Union speech, as well as all the G-O-TEA response(s) and all the media spin. And tonight, Obama will be drawing clear distinctions from the G-O-TEA religion of Milton Friedman laissez faire run amok.

"It's time to apply the same rules from top to bottom: No bailouts, no handouts, and no copouts. An America built to last insists on responsibility from everybody."

Obama will describe what he calls a blueprint for an American economy "that's built to last," based on four main themes: a focus on American manufacturing, American energy, skills for American workers, and what Obama calls a "return to American values – of fairness for all, and responsibility from all."

In a message tailored to his reelection pitch, he'll contrast that vision with a recent history in which he said the economy was "weakened by outsourcing, bad debt, and phony financial profits."

"We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by. Or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules," he will say. "What's at stake are not Democratic values or Republican values, but American values. We have to reclaim them."

I'm really looking forward to this. Stay tuned for more to come.

5:15 PM-

Here's something that will help in drawing clear distinctions. While Obama "insists on responsibility from everybody", Mittens is actually trying to draw up sympathy for the big banks that caused the financial crisis and escalated The Great Recession. Is he for real? Well, he was the one who said this.



As we discussed back in October...

Are underwater homeowners to blame for deregulating Wall Street, allowing banks to create and advertise "No Down Payment! Interest Only! Record Low Rates! Buy Now!" adjustable rate mortgages, then repackage and sell this bad debt as "AAA gold standard mortgage backed securities!"? Are underwater homeowners to blame for the enormous lack of regulatory oversight of the financial sector that reached its horrifying climax in the 2008 economic collapse? So why are underwater homeowners expected by the likes of Mitt Romney to "SUCK IT UP!" when Wall Street "21st century robber barons" are the chief culprits behind this fiasco? [...]

If we follow Mitt Romney's advice to "let it run its course and hit the bottom", our economy will be in an even deeper hole that will be even more difficult to escape from. Housing has nearly always been the starting force in turning an economy from recession to recovery. So how do our communities benefit from empty homes? And yes, Romney's "do nothing and let the banks foreclose" policy prescription would lead to even more empty homes if implemented. And this leads to a "domino effect" of depressed home values, scared consumers, fewer home goods purchases, less construction, and fewer jobs. Properly addressing the home foreclosure crisis is not about "re-inflating the bubble", but rather restarting the economy.

Funny enough, President Obama will be announcing tonight the creation of a new Mortgage Crisis Unit that will investigate criminal misconduct that led to the financial crisis and housing collapse. Again, the contrast couldn't be any clearer.


6:15 PM-

I'm now at the Stonewall watch party. Big crowd here! I'll have more on that later.

But for now, I will talk about what Obama is saying. He started his speech by highlighting his foreign policy achievements. Amer
ica is now out of Iraq, Osama bin Laden is dead, al-Qaeda is weak, and the Middle East is transforming for the freer and better.

He's now pivoting to the economy. And yes, he's really hitting hard on the theme of restoring economic justice and working toward equality. He's noting his success in job creation, as well as his leading the way to rein in Wall Street's excesses.

Oh, and here's the "fight obstruction with action" line. It's getting HUGE applause in the room. He doesn't even have to call out John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Mitt Romney, or Newt Gingrich by name. He's slashing apart their G-O-TEA religion quite well right now. He's highlighting the resurrection of the US auto industry. And he's about to talk about renewable energy successes. He said that we bet on American workers, and that the bet is paying off.

So far, so great.


6:30 PM-

Hmmm... President Obama is now announcing a trade enforcement unit. Funny enough, this will please both unions concerned about unfair trade practices... As well as Hollywood studios who were pissed over the loss of SOPA & PIPA. And seriously, we can't just continue to let vulture capitalists run roughshod over us.

And speaking more on that, Obama also rolled out an aggressive plan to reform the corporate tax code. He wants to expand breaks to small businesses and high-tech firms that manufacture here while taking a harder line on "legal" tax cheats. Sorry, Mitt Romney. I guess that's why Joe Heck looked so angry when the camera cut to him?

He's now talking education. Obama is explaining how educational opportunities can lift students out of poverty. He also spoke up for teachers. He sounds ready to end the ridiculous failed experiment known as "No Child Left Behind". Yes! We need real teaching, not training for standardized tests.


6:40 PM-

Obama stressed the need to make college more affordable. He even threatened to cut funding to schools that are making their tuition too unaffordable! Wow.

He then brought up comprehensive immigration reform. Wow. He went there. He's really shaming Congress!

He's again bringing up the need to invest in innovation. We really can't continue to shortchange our future.We have to fund research.

Now Obama is talking energy. He mentioned his willingness to allow for more oil drilling in some areas, but then he pivoted to cleaner energy. Here's where natural gas comes in. Apparently he's willing to regulate fracking, but he definitely sounds open to more natural gas development.

And now, Obama is talking real renewable energy. He's now reminding America that renewable energy investments mean real job creation. He refuted the far right's Solyndra nonsense with real examples of real job creation. We've subsidized fossil fuel for far enough. If we want a real "free marketplace", then it's time to level the playing field for green energy.

Oh, and now he's announcing that both the Pentagon and public lands will be going all in on renewable development! Again, it's time to act.

6:55 PM-

And here's what we've been waiting all night for. Obama is now hitting hard on economic inequality... And on the tax code. He doesn't have to name Mitt Romney to point out his tax evasion. He's now explaining how Mitt Romney's 14% tax rate on his $21,000,000 annual income adds to the deficit and takes away from students struggling to stay in college, and from seniors trying to pay for their prescription drugs. Ha. Mittens won't get away with this any longer!

7:10 PM-

For a moment, we heard some of the Barack Obama we came to know in 2007. He talked again about the biting partisan tone of Washington. He asked Congress to stop fighting each other to death and start working together. That may really be harder said than done.


And now, Obama turns back to foreign policy. Libya. Egypt. Syria. "Tyranny is no match for liberty." The Arab Spring is here to stay. The world is finally reaching accord on what to do about Iran. Obama continues to remind us of how he's done a total 189 on foreign policy once he took over from Bush... And that America and the world are all the better for it.

7:20 PM-

HA! Obama just stated America is NOT in decline, and that our position on the world stage is better than ever. For all the Republican bluster of "America first", they now sound like the "America haters" they always accused progressives of. He just turned the patriotism argument on its head.

State of Our Union... In Motion

Tonight, we'll be watching what may be the most critical moment of 2012.



And then tomorrow, the President arrives here. And on Thursday, he'll be giving a speech on energy. However, don't expect another talk in front of a solar power plant.

A look at the president’s detailed travel schedule reveals a few clues about the specifics he might be getting into — at least enough for one good guess.

In Nevada, conversations about investing in energy usually revolve around geothermal power or solar panels. But Obama is not coming to Nevada to talk at a power plant in the desert.

Obama arrives in Las Vegas Wednesday evening. On Thursday morning, he is delivering public remarks at the United Parcel Service Las Vegas South facility.

Last year, UPS announced it had contracted with Clean Energy Fuels Corp. to roll out a fleet of 48 liquefied natural gas-fueled transport trucks at a new LNG [liquefied natural gas] fueling station. The initial contract, set for seven years, started in 2011.

So what is this about? Clean Energy Fuels started opening LNG fueling stations in Southern Nevada last year. Now there are four stations here in the valley. And last year, UPS began replacing its older diesel trucks with LNG powered trucks.

And while there are still clear environmental risks with LNG fuel, it is much cleaner than any other fossil fuel, it is more readily available domestically (so not as much need to import, unlike oil), and it may even be cheaper than traditional crude oil based gasoline. It may not be a good idea to declare natural gas a panacea, but it may be useful as a "transitional fuel" while research continues on more ways to harness renewable energy. And considering all the jobs that are being created as companies like UPS switch their vehicles from traditional gas or diesel to LNG, this can certainly provide a much needed boost to the economy.

So again, President Obama is looking ahead to future opportunities to create more American jobs while also doing something serious about climate change. We've recently regained the title of top global investor in clean energy, and there's plenty more economic benefit to investing in our future.

But of course, the G-O-TEA fools running against Obama just don't get it. What are their proposals to cut greenhouse gas emissions and create jobs? They don't have any. In fact, they'd rather conspire with lobbyists from foreign oil conglomerates to increase their profits than do something to help American workers looking for good American jobs!



Of course, we've seen for ourselves what the likes of API do to try to confuse us about climate change and smart energy solutions. So hopefully this week, Nevadans will be able to see for themselves who's looking forward to smart energy saving and economy boosting solutions... And who's just pitifully stuck in reverse.

State of the Union: The Rhetoric & The Reality.

What’s more, we are the first nation to be founded for the sake of an idea – the idea that each of us deserves the chance to shape our own destiny. That is why centuries of pioneers and immigrants have risked everything to come here. It’s why our students don’t just memorize equations, but answer questions like “What do you think of that idea? What would you change about the world? What do you want to be when you grow up?”

The future is ours to win. But to get there, we can’t just stand still. As Robert Kennedy told us, “The future is not a gift. It is an achievement.” Sustaining the American Dream has never been about standing pat. It has required each generation to sacrifice, and struggle, and meet the demands of a new age.

Now it’s our turn. We know what it takes to compete for the jobs and industries of our time. We need to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world. We have to make America the best place on Earth to do business. We need to take responsibility for our deficit, and reform our government. That’s how our people will prosper. That’s how we’ll win the future. And tonight, I’d like to talk about how we get there.

Last night, I was listening to President Obama's State of the Union Address...

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

And yes, I saw the complete teabagger train wreck that followed...

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

So did it all mean? Well, let's start with the good news:

- Obama is proposing a robust clean energy plan to make 80% of our energy sources renewable by 2035.

- He reminded everyone that government investment is necessary to fuel capitalistic achievement.

- He's not in the mood to slash education, and it seems he wants to do more to encourage the kind of robust investment in K-12 and college education that we need for sustained economic recovery and growth.

- To my surprise yesterday, he addressed comprehensive immigration reform.

- And finally, Obama gave the impassioned defense of health care reform that was long overdue. It's too bad he wasn't on offense with this a year ago, but late is nearly always better than never. And now, it will be critical to ensure reform isn't dismantled and/or defunded this year.

Wow. President Obama seemingly took a very difficult hand of a fragile economic recovery and more hostile Congress, and turned it around to use it to his advantage to find common ground on important progressive goals like climate solutions & renewable energy, and education. Again, he reminded us all that government indeed must invest in our economy in order for us all to reap good returns. And interestingly enough, he sought to frame it in a way that boxes Congressional Republicans into a corner. Do they want to cooperate with Obama on investing in continued economic recovery, or do they want to continue obstructing everything and reopening old floor fights on issues like health care reform?

However, not everything was coming up roses last night. Maven gives us a reality check.

Tonight we heard all the usual rhetoric … very well delivered. All designed to put the Republicans on the defensive, if that’s possible since they’re beaming in from an as yet undiscovered planet (can you say Rep. Paul Ryan, R-WI ?). Yup, we’re all gonna have flying electric cars one day, and mag-lev rail between Reno and the Bay Area. Right. We’re gonna get all this done with a “spending freeze”.

Gawd help us.

Obama starts out patting himself on the back, for what? Extending tax cuts. Tax cuts create jobs, you know. Sigh. This is simply buying into the ‘new centrism’ and GOP mythology. (Note below, that even individual tax rates in the U. S. aren’t exactly going through the roof.)

The President goes on to talk about cutting discretionary spending to levels not seen since the Eisenhower Administration. I’ve got news for the President, if Eisenhower had seen what we’re dealing with right now, he’d have increased spending. Eisenhower wasn’t stupid.

Typically, no where in the speech was it mentioned that the bulk of our “discretionary spending” is for the military-industrial complex, AKA ‘The War On Terror’, AKA wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. I cite Warresisters.org,nationalpriorities.org.

So here's the bad news:

- Obama seemed way too willing to buy into the GOP/"tea party" "austerity" BS. Here's the problem: We're just emerging from the worst recession since The Great Depression! The last thing our economy needs right now is a "spending freeze" that will just stop the kind of investment we were talking about above, the kind of investment we need to create more jobs.

- Not once in all the talk of "wasteful spending" was war spending mentioned. Speaking of President Eisenhower, he warned us in his now famous 1961 Farewell Address about the dangers of embracing "the military-industrial complex".



Look where we are now. We're mired in two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. And "the military-industrial complex" has put us in a more precarious situation than ever before.



- Embedded in Obama's call for more renewable energy was yet another embrace of the "clean coal & nuclear" myth.



Sorry, but it's true. Coal and nuclear are far from "clean", and it makes absolutely no sense to include them as part of our clean energy portfolio.

- And finally, we heard plenty of bluster last night about earmarks. What is often forgotten is that Congress has Constitutional authority over the purse strings, NOT The President. So why should Congress be forced to give up its legal mandate to direct federal funds? Earmarks have virtually no impact on the federal budget, yet they do have a huge impact in ensuring we in
Nevada get our fair share of our tax dollars.

Earmarks, otherwise known as “pork barrel” spending, have come to represent the excesses of special interests and cronyism in Washington, especially through spending projects like Alaska’s Bridge to Nowhere, or Sparks’ infamous $225,000 pool.
In Nevada, they’ve also been behind projects like the Veterans Hospital in North Las Vegas, opening this year.
“We don’t think that a service for 50,000 veterans is pork barrel,” said Wayne Leroy, Nevada chairman of the Elks National Service Commission. (Nevada Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley secured a $350 million earmark in 2008 to help fund the $600 million project.) “That was about the only way that the hospital could get established,” Leroy said. “Now I’m sure this sort of project will be more difficult to do, if we’re able to at all.”

In 2010, Nevada ranked 11th in the country in earmark per capita spending, according to a survey of the 50 states and the District of Columbia by the anti-earmark spending group Citizens Against Government Waste. Its $58.50 per head threshold is still a far cry from chart-topping Hawaii’s $251.78, but it still puts it in the top tier — targeted spending largely credited to the influence of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Earmarks are “our bread and butter, and the most time-tested model of how you win re-election,” UNLV political science professor David Damore said.
Reid certainly seems to think so.

“It’s a lot of pretty talk,” Reid said of the president’s pledge to, as Obama said later Tuesday, assure the American people “that special interests aren’t larding up legislation with pet projects” by vetoing any bill with an earmark in it.
“It is only giving the president more power,” Reid said. “He’s got enough power already.”

Again, we're talking about stripping much of Congress' Constitutional authority over the budget, and all for what amounts to less than 1% of federal spending and 100% political grandstanding.

So what's my final take on President Obama's speech last night? Basically, he offered some glimmers of hope for a more progressive vision of a better, stronger America. And he made a strong case for tried and true Keynesian economics. That's a good start.

However, what troubled me was Obama's validation of so many "tea party" memes of "big, bad government". I know he had to delicately thread the needle to get some Republican cooperation, so I understand he had to throw them some bones. Still, don't try to prove their bad, failed ideas right... And don't repeat the same mistakes that got us into this mess in the first place.

And by the way, I don't have anything else to say on the two GOP/teabagger responses. Both of them were total sideshows.

NBC/WSJ Poll: GOP Still Disliked, Dems in Doldrums, But Sparks of Hope Are There

I know it can be frustrating sometimes to look at polls and wonder what the heck most Americans are thinking. Jeez, it can be frustrating to see how Americans are more likely to vote in "American Idol" or "Dancing with the Stars" than an actual election!

However, not everything is horrible. I noticed this a little earlier, and took a closer look in the NBC-Wall Street Journal poll. First off, let's look at how people feel about the major actors in Washington.

Summary Table of Images Total Positive Total Negativeive D/S
Barack Obama 52 34 18
The Democratic Party 39 38 1
The Republican Party 32 38 -6
Scott Brown 23 8 15
The Tea Party Movement 28 21 7
Timothy Geithner 11 19 -8
Ben Bernanke 18 18 -

President Obama and Democrats are still viewed more favorably. And take a look at this:

Q4a In general, do you approve or disapprove of the job that Barack Obama is doing as president?

1/23- 25/10
1/10- 14/10
12/09
10/09
9/09
8/09
7/09
6/09
4/09
2/09
Approve................................... 50 48 47 51 51 51 53 56 61 60
Disapprove............................... 44 43 46 42 41 40 40 34 30 26
Not sure................................. 6 9 7 7 8 9 7 10 9 14

Obama's approval rating actually edged up a bit this month, and it's still net positive. And finally, just for fun, let's take a look at this.

Q14 Let me read you a number of criticisms people have mentioned about what is happening in Washington.
Please tell me if you agree or disagree with each one. (RANDOMIZE)


Agree Disagree Not
Sure
There is too much partisan fighting between Democrats and Republicans and very little cooperation 93 5 2
Special interests have too much influence over legislation 84 12 4
Not enough has been done to regulate Wall Street firms and the banking industry 74 22 4
The Democratic majorities in Congress are trying to push through legislation without bi-partisan compromise. 61 32 7
The Republicans in Congress are trying to block any Democratic legislation without bi-partisan compromise. 61 33 6
The federal government has gone too far and tried to do too much 58 39 3
President Obama has failed to provide the kind of leadership needed on the major issues like the economy
and health care. 47 50 3

So to a certain extent, people don't really know what they want. All we can really see is that they've grown weary of the partisan bickering in Congress, tired of the Wall Street bailouts, and frustrated over the lack of progress on the economy.

So what needs to be done?

Maybe President Obama can start tonight's State of the Union address by actually showing some leadership, declaring his commitment to getting health care reform done soon and done right (hint: public option wanted, HMO bailouts not), and starting anew on financial reform with a focus on curbing corporate excesses and Wall Street "robber barons". And no matter what President Obama says, Congressional Democrats need to just go froward with this plan. BTD explains why at Talk Left.

[...] [T]he relative popularity of Obama compared to the Congress does not translate into people coming out to vote for Dems in an election where Obama is not on the ballot. The reality is the Congressional Dems' fate in November is 'inextricably tied' to the BASE, not to Obama. They need the unions and activists and hard core Dems to work for, and VOTE for, them in November. And it is becoming painfully clear that Obama has little effect on that.

True. Unless one President has super strong support (Bush in 2002) or super strong opposition (Bush in 2006), the President only holds so much sway in a midterm election. However, that doesn't mean the President is irrelevant. Here's Greg Sargent's take:

As you can see, public opinion is very volatile right now. The public clearly has turned on the health care plan and has doubts about Obama’s overall priorities. But voters are heaping a heavy amount of the blame on Congress — which is to say, on the process — and still seems to think Obama is providing the level of needed leadership. What’s more, for now, voters are saying their pick in the midterms won’t be about opposition to Obama.

This all suggests the possibility that there’s still room for Obama to transcend the process and to recapture a bit of that reformer mantle that seems to have slipped away from him. Though there’s still obviously a ton of work to do.

And btw, here's what Sargent is referring to:

Q7c Will your vote for Congress this November be a vote to send a signal of support for President Obama, a
signal of opposition to President Obama, or not a signal either way about President Obama?

1/23-
25/10+
A vote to send signal of support for Obama.................................. 37
A vote to send signal of opposition to Obama............................... 27
Not a signal either way about Obama........................................... 35
Not sure...................................................................................... 1
+ Results shown reflect responses among registered voters

If voters are still willing to give Obama a chance, then there's hope. And if President Obama can use what's left of his "political capital" to actually get some good stuff done, all may not be lost just yet.