Archive for blame game

Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.): Boehner risks becoming “complicit” in Benghazi “failure” if he doesn’t create special panel

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Don’t Republicans watch The Rachel Maddow Show or The Daily Show (links go to videos of both)? Of course not, because if they did, they’d see what total asses they continue to make of themselves.

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Nevertheless, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said that he has personally urged House Speaker John Boehner to create a Very Special Benghazi Panel in light of “the building momentum in the House.”

Memo to Linds: The only “momentum in the House” has come from rabid Republicans falling all over themselves to destroy Hillary Clinton’s possible run for president and the current president’s legacy.

That’s kind of like Fox saying that momentum was building for the invasion of Iraq because Judith Miller planted a bunch of lies in the New York Times, and then quoting “a New York Times report” to make their case. Creating news and then reporting that creation as news will indeed build momentum… in some circles. And those circles find themselves going in circles to push any fantasy and propaganda that will benefit their side regardless of where real facts or credible witnesses who they refuse to call might lead them.

The Hill:

A day after three State Department whistle-blowers criticized the administration’s response to the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) suggested the Speaker risked becoming “complicit” in a cover-up if he doesn’t create a special panel.

“The revelations at yesterday’s hearing have raised serious questions about the administration’s efforts to respond to the Americans under fire at the annex in Benghazi,” he said in a letter to Boehner. “What remains to be seen is whether the House will be complicit in that failure, or if we will pursue the truth — wherever it may take us — to ensure that we continue to deserve the sacrifices made by the men and women who serve our country.”

Wolf has 139 co-sponsors, which amounts to nearly 60 percent of the House Republican Conference.

Sorry, did I say co-sponsors? I meant co-clowns.

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Why I didn’t watch the Sunday talk shows today

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I made the mistake of turning on “Meet the Press” today. I lasted about seven minutes before screaming at the Tee Vee Machine and turning it off. The entire seven minutes was similar to what happened here: “Does this open the president up for criticism? Will critics have new ammo? Well, will they, huh? Huh?” #LibrulMediaMyAss

All I heard was Benghazi Benghazi Benghazi, criticism of the president over the Boston bombings, and then more hyperventilating about anything else that ever existed within the vast political scope of all things Obama. BAD Obama. FAILURE Obama. INEPT Obama. LEAD FROM BEHIND Obama. BLAME Obama.

I’m fine with healthy, constructive criticism, but this is out of control. There is no more news. News died when it was swept into the greedy, self-serving world of commercialization. What we have now is any excuse to create controversy, to even create a non-existent news story, in order to ramp up the ratings.

What better way for corporate-owned media to achieve higher Nielsens for their beloved corporate sponsors than to bash Obama, ignite passions, beat the drums for war, and scare viewers so that they’ll glue themselves to the screen to catch the next BIG, SCARY CHYRON!

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But back to the Benghazi Noise Machine. Today, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) claimed that President Obama’s administration is threatening and intimidating witnesses, but he couldn’t even back up his claim:

But hey, that’s okay, people watched, some pointed and laughed, and some even mistook his warped opinion for fact. Key word: Watched. What more could a news program hope for? Oh wait, that was Fox, not news.

I previously posted a video of a segment in which Chris Hayes said this on his “All In” show:

“Question mark.” You know, there is this thing we do in cable news. Sometimes magazines do it too. You want to grab someone’s attention but the thing you want to say is just too irresponsible to get away with or stand behind. So, for example, maybe I want to say, in discussing Lindsey Graham’s demagoguery in constitutional due process, “Lindsey Graham, comma, Constitution hater.” So no, instead what we would say is, “Lindsay Graham, Constitution hater?” Since you are asking a question, you don’t have to stand behind what you are asserting.

And then, as if on cue, MSNBC displayed a chyron only a few minutes ago that read, “Lame duck already?” Since they asked, allow me to respond: “Idiotic question chyron?” Question mark?

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VIDEO– PA Gov. Tom “You Just Have to Close Your Eyes” Corbett: Most unemployed people are on drugs

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Why, it seems like only yesterday that I posted PA Gov. Tom Corbett trailed all challengers by 9-plus points.

Oh wait. It was yesterday.

And now it’s today, and Tom “You Just Have to Close Your Eyes” Corbett is right back in the news, apparently making a perverse effort to widen those poll numbers even more.

When it came to his state’s unemployment numbers, Gov. Blamey McLowPolls pointed the finger at all those icky jobless Takers being on drugs:

“The other area is, there are many employers that say we’re looking for people but we can’t find anybody that has passed a drug test, a lot of them. And that’s a concern for me because we’re having a serious problem with that.”

Via Think Progress, where they note that out of all the people they drug tested in 19 Pennsylvania counties, only two people have failed:

During an appearance on a local radio show this week, Corbett sought to explain away Pennsylvania’s less than stellar performance, arguing that the state gained 111,000 private sector jobs since he took office and is “doing better than other states.” 

At least he didn’t blame Obama. How novel.

VIDEO: Rep. Peter King (R-NY) implies what now? “Pressure cooker bombs described in Al Qaeda magazine.”

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Although Andrea Mitchell didn't stop Rep. Peter King (R-NY) in his tracks and suggest that he was implying that this was an Al Qaeda attack, when in fact, it could be a (white) domestic terrorist who set up the explosives in Boston, she did follow up with, "We don't know who it is." Points for that, Andrea.

Here is King admitting his own ignorance while emphasizing that pressure cooker bomb instructions were found in an Al Qaeda magazine, so obviously this was the work of those icky evil Muslims:

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King:

My understanding is that those pressure cooker type bombs were described in "Inspire" magazine several years ago, the magazine of Al Qaeda in the Arabian peninsula. That's the extent of what I know about pressure cooker bombs. That's the one where they were telling Americans to how to make bombs against their own country and the magazine did call for a attacks on iconic athletic events.

Mitchell:

I've checked with the official sources I have; we don't know what it is, who, whether a single suspect or a group, foreign or domestic, intelligence communities now, going back over any information to see whether any incoming in the last weeks or months, even had any hints of this. and tasking bureaus around the world.

If "that's the extent of what he knows about pressure cooker bombs," then maybe he should stop pointing fingers before he learns more about what actually happened and who is responsible.

Indulge me here, because I'm repeating what I wrote in Sen. Dianne Feinstein: Saudi national ‘not a suspect’ in Boston bombings:

As Nicole Sandler and I discussed on her radio show today, there has been way too much speculation about the tragedy– some of it irrational, much of it erroneous, some of it thoughtful. What has been appalling is the default position of those who automatically blame any attack on anyone who they conclude is a "Muslim terrorist." Never mind the white American terrorists who killed and/or threatened abortion providers or the Timothy McVeighs in this country.

Here is the entire segment:

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Sen. Dianne Feinstein: Saudi national ‘not a suspect’ in Boston bombings

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Earlier today, Paddy posted a video of a heckler interrupting the Boston bombing Presser with an accusation of a false flag staged attack, directly from the Alex Jones school of conspiracy theories.

As Nicole Sandler and I discussed on her radio show today, there has been way too much speculation about the tragedy– some of it irrational, much of it erroneous, some of it thoughtful. What has been appalling is the default position of those who automatically blame any attack on anyone who they conclude is a "Muslim terrorist." Never mind the white American terrorists who killed and/or threatened abortion providers or the Timothy McVeighs in this country.

Josh Rogin and Senator Dianne Feinstein are doing what they can to stop some of that conclusion-jumping.

Via Josh Rogin:

The Saudi national injured in the Boston Marathon bombings Monday is "not a suspect," Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) told The Cable Tuesday.

"As far as I know, he is not a suspect," Feinstein said Tuesday afternoon. She declined to specify how she knew but said she had been briefed Monday night by Sean Joyce, the No. 2 official at the FBI. Feinstein said her information about the Saudi national was not dispositive because the investigation was still ongoing. [...]

Feinstein said she didn't know yet if the attack was from a foreign or domestic source.

"It's hard to tell," she said. "I think the device will determine a lot of that."

Investigators have already searched the home of the 22-year old Saudi student, who was injured during the bombings and remains in the care of a local hospital. Officials at the Saudi Embassy in Washington, D.C. have also not been informed that the student is either a suspect or a person of interest.

Place blame after the facts come out, not before. Please and thank you.

WI ranks 44th in nation for job creation under Gov. Scott Walker’s watch. He blames protests, recall.

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Check out these headlines:

From JSOnline, Scott Walker budget could create deficit in next biennium:

Gov. Scott Walker’s 2013-’15 budget bill would leave the state with a potential shortfall of $664 million for the following two-year budget, a new report shows.

The memo from the Legislature’s nonpartisan budget office shows the state’s finances would take a big swing from the current budget, which according to the method used in the memo will leave a $146 million surplus going forward. But the Legislative Fiscal Bureau still pegs the potential shortfall at the second-lowest level since 1997.

The impact of these budget figures could fall on everyone from taxpayers to students and those in need of government-funded health care.

$30 million of the spending would go to state aid to private voucher schools that Walker’s been pushing.

From FDLreporter, Walker blames jobs report on politics:

Gov. Scott Walker… said Thursday that recall-election politics are responsible for the state’s drop in private-sector job creation. A report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released Thursday shows the state is ranked 44th in the nation for creating private-sector jobs. The data, which covers a year-long period that ended in September, shows a recent steady decline. Wisconsin ranked 42nd in the previous quarter, and 37th in the quarter before that.

From WisPolitics, Dems, Walker spar over latest job numbers:

New monthly job numbers out Thursday showed a mixed economic picture for the state, but most critics focused on quarterly numbers showing Wisconsin still lagging in job creation.

The state’s unemployment rate rose to 7.2 percent in February, a 0.2 percentage point increase over the previous month. While the state gained 12,100 jobs the same month, it also lost 2,300 private sector jobs.

The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics also released state job numbers for the third quarter of 2012. They showed the state creating jobs but at a rate slower than most states. Wisconsin ranked 44th among states in job creation from Sept. 2011 to Sept. 2012.

That last report also said that Walker blamed the protests and recall election for the poor numbers. What he failed to do is blame himself for being the motivation for the protests and recall election in the first place.

But surprise! He didn’t blame President Obama. Yet.

Oops! John Boehner touts poll showing Americans don’t like spending cuts and want to raise taxes

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Greg Sargent is reporting on yet another reason why John Boehner should feel embarrassed about himself: this tweet:

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Greg:

Which is funny, because the poll actually shows that majorities of voters would rather increase taxes than cut spending on education, Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid, and infrastructure. In other words, it demonstrates a central fact about public opinion that may help determine how the sequester “blame game” will play…

While Republicans live to play the Blame Obama game, voters see things a little differently. Just as they did when the Affordable Care Act (aka “Obamacare”) was broken down into separate components, poll respondents react differently when presented with more detailed information.

Many of those who tend to favor cuts overall change their tune when they are asked about slashing specific programs that will directly affect their lives.

Here’s what the Marist-McClatchy poll actually reveals:

Among voters choices on other parts of the budget:

-by 57-35 they prefer to cut energy spending rather than raise taxes;

-by 55-38 they prefer to cut spending on jobless benefits rather than raise taxes;

-by 65-31 they prefer to raise taxes than cut spending on education;

-by 60-33 they prefer to raise taxes than cut Social Security;

-by 57-36 they prefer to raise taxes than cut Medicare;

-by 53-40 they prefer to raise taxes than cut spending for transportation including roads and bridges;

-by 50-42 they prefer to raise taxes than cut Medicaid.

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Greg notes that Americans prefer spending cuts to tax hikes in only three areas: “energy, jobless benefits, and…defense!”

The impact of the sequester on the everyday lives of Americans is dawning on people, and the Blame Game is still a work in progress. As Sargent points out:

[T]his could very well end up damaging Republican officials (who represent the party of only-austerity-forever and crisis-to-crisis governing) just as much or more. Any GOP triumphalism about the politics of the sequester is premature. This is a long game.

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