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05 Mar 2012 19:48

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Politics: Three conversation-starting moments from HBO’s “Game Change”

  • oneAides realize early on that Sarah Palin, John McCain’s running mate, will have to learn a lot about history and current events to keep up in the public spotlight. When asked if she needed to take a break, she declined, saying “this is flippin’ awesome!”
  • two “I am not your puppet! You have ruined my reputation! I am ruined in Alaska,” Palin said in a meltdown over the phone due to when Nicole Wallace, a campaign press guru, pushed a series of talking points on the vice-presidential candidate.
  • three Near the end of the campaign, when Palin was a “loose cannon” and had a “swelling ego,” she told McCain: “We have to win this thing — I so don’t wanna go back to Alaska!” Despite this, Palin returned to her job for nearly a year after the election. source
  • » Sure to stir presidential emotions: The made-for-TV movie regarding the “rise of Sarah Palin” airs March 10. Though HBO claimed the movie is a “balanced portrayal” of events, Palin’s Super PAC has already labeled the movie “fact change.” Which may be true. “Game Change” may have taken some dramatic liberties from the book, but you’ll be the judge of that.
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Mar 2012 10:36

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Politics: Three analytical takes on Rush Limbaugh’s current controversy

  • one David Frum asks an important question: “Are we being fair to Rush Limbaugh?” Frum’s answer: “Even by the rough standards of cable/talk radio/digital talk, Limbaugh’s verbal abuse of Sandra Fluke set a new kind of low.”
  • two James Poniewozik of Time suggests that the moment could become Rush’s Imus moment: “Limbaugh’s situation may not be exactly parallel, because all analogies break down at some point, but there’s a lot of basic similarity.”
  • three Columnist Joel Mathis of Philadelphia Magazine loosens the focus on Rush and suggests that the reaction shows a major problem: “We stopped talking about the issues. And we focused very deeply on our own hurt feelings.” Hm.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Mar 2012 20:00

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Politics: Gingrich predicts Big Oil will hand the election to the GOP

  • “That’s a pretty big burden while he’s waging war on the Catholic Church and apologizing to Islamic extremists”: In which Newt Gingrich tells CNN’s Candy Crowley that Big Oil will intentionally tank the American economy, placing an insurmountable obstacle on President Obama’s path to re-election. source
Posted by Scott Craft • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Mar 2012 19:50

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Politics: Obama speaks before skeptic AIPAC audience

  • Now is the time to heed that timeless advice from Teddy Roosevelt: speak softly, but carry a big stick.
  • President Barack Obama • Speaking before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the day before he is scheduled to meet with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Although he was quick to condemn what he believed to be “too much loose talk of war”, President Obama pleased many in attendance when he confirmed he would not support “containment” of a nuclear-armed Iran. When asked about the possibility of military intervention, the President replied, “I will not hesitate to use force when it is necessary to defend the United States and its interests.”source
Posted by Scott Craft • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Mar 2012 10:08

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Politics: Super PACs aggressively spend ahead of Super Tuesday. Super.

  • $10 million in Super Tuesday ads bought by Super PACs source
  • » Four states getting strongest focus: Ten states are holding primaries and caucuses in a couple of days, but the ones that the GOP candidates are really focused on? Ohio, Georgia, Oklahoma and Tennessee. Much of the advertising seems to be focused on trashing other candidates, with both Mitt-and-Newt-affiliated Super PACs attacking Rick Santorum — who is currently leading in Ohio. In other news, Mitt won a caucus in Washington on Saturday with Ron Paul scoring second place, though the caucus is non-binding.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Mar 2012 20:46

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Politics: Rush Limbaugh apologizes for language, sticks by Fluke argument

  • good! A couple hours ago, Rush Limbaugh apologized to Sandra Fluke for calling her a “slut” and a “prostitute” for speaking about contraception funding to Congress: “My choice of words was not the best, and in the attempt to be humorous, I created a national stir. I sincerely apologize to Ms. Fluke for the insulting word choices.”
  • however The apology didn’t avoid tough words, though including a series of lines attacking the thrust of what Fluke said in front of Congress: “I think it is absolutely absurd that during these very serious political times, we are discussing personal sexual recreational activities before members of Congress.” Is his apology good enough? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Mar 2012 10:20

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Politics: Sandra Fluke ‘outraged’ by Rush’s attempts to silence her

  • I’m certainly not going to be silenced.
  • Georgetown student Sandra Fluke • Responding to the controversy that began Wednesday, when conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh began a series of attacks on her character and asked that she upload videos of her sexual encounters for his viewing pleasure. Fluke became the target of Limbaugh’s rage after testifying before Congress on Georgetown’s contraceptive policy; however, Limbaugh’s comments cost him four sponsors, and condemnation from pundits across the country. Friday afternoon, President Obama called Sandra to offer words of encouragement and support, and Georgetown president John J. DeGioia defended the student in a statement calling Limbaugh’s attacks “misogynistic” and “vitriolic”.  source
Posted by Scott Craft • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

02 Mar 2012 17:45

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Politics: Sandra Fluke vs. Rush Limbaugh: What you need to know, in a nutshell

  • cause Last week, a Georgetown law student, Sandra Fluke, testified in front of Congress on the Jesuit school’s policy on contraception, an issue which has drawn many emotions of late.
  • reaction Many on the right attacked Fluke for her testimony, but none as harshly as talker Rush Limbaugh, who called her a “slut” and a “prostitute” on his radio show. Yeah, that’s not cool.
  • result Limbaugh’s comments drew strong reactions from the left especially. Republican House Speaker John Boehner criticized Limbaugh. The president even called her up today. Really. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Mar 2012 17:38

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Politics: Advertisers start pulling out of Rush Limbaugh’s show

  • 4 companies pulled their ads from Rush Limbaugh’s show today source
  • » Why? Because of this, of course. Really, we’re surprised that any advertisers offended by this weren’t offended by anything else Limbaugh’s said over the last twenty years. Regardless, advertisers aren’t the only ones reacting negatively to Limbaugh’s comments.
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Mar 2012 17:34

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Politics: The Republican establishment isn’t pleased with Rush Limbaugh

  • Rush’s attempt to increase his ratings and get noticed again do hurt Republicans…beating up on a college student is not good optics.
  • A senior Republican strategist • In response to Rush Limbaugh’s calling a pro-contraception college student a “slut” and a “prostitute” earlier this week. What we find interesting is that the speaker in question is identified by the Washington Post as “a senior party strategist granted anonymity to speak candidly out of wariness of crossing Limbaugh publicly.” This speaks not only to the enormous power Limbaugh wields amongst the Republican base, but also the sense of legitimacy that the GOP establishment continues to bestow upon him by refusing to denounce his statements publicly. To his credit, Rick Santorum, who’s as anti-contraception as anybody, called Limbaugh’s comments “absurd.”  source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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