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09 Oct 2011 20:30

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Politics: American Spectator editor: I infiltrated DC protesters to mock them

  • As far as anyone knew I was part of this cause — a cause that I had infiltrated the day before in order to mock and undermine in the pages of The American Spectator — and I wasn’t giving up before I had my story. Under a cloud of pepper spray I forced myself into the doors and sprinted blindly across the floor of the Air and Space Museum …
  • American Spectator assistant editor Patrick Howley • Discussing his role in the Air & Space Museum protests on Saturday, which (in a story since deleted from the site, but repeated elsewhere) he claims to have helped escalate. Howley claims he did this in an effort to commit an act of journalism (and to mock the protesters in the process, which his article most certainly did), but the result appears to have been a large amount of negative press for a James O’Keefe-esque act. source

09 Oct 2011 11:47

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Politics: With weak presidential field, Tea Party focusing on Senate instead

  • No one is going to get perfect in a general election candidate. That is why we think the Senate is a better place to focus.
  • FreedomWorks president Matt Kibbe • Effectively saying that Tea Party groups plan to focus on the presidential election, and instead put their energies towards helping the GOP win back the U.S. Senate, which the Democrats control with a slight majority. The race totals favor the GOP winning more seats — 23 of the 33 seats up for grabs next year are in Democratic power, and at least a few of those seats up for grabs because Senators are retiring — most notably those of Jim Webb and Kent Conrad. Do you guys think the GOP has a chance at getting the Senate back in 2012, especially considering increased Tea Party focus? source

07 Oct 2011 13:46

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Politics: Why the U.S. Postal Service’s massive deficit is really sort of an illusion

  • illusion The U.S. postal service has had to pre-pay large amounts of their health care costs for a number of years — roughly $5.5 billion this year, which they nearly defaulted on and only survived thanks to U.S. government help.
  • reality In reality, they’re pre-paying health benefits over the next 75 years — a point which likely includes many employees yet to be hired or born — as a way to make the federal deficit look a little less depressing. Wait a second … source

06 Oct 2011 17:19

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Politics: Herman Cain is no friend of Occupy Wall Street

  • “I don’t have facts to back this up, but I happen to believe…”: Herman Cain is downright unimpressed with Occupy Wall Street, and he’s not afraid to let us know it. We suspect those of you who are sympathetic to (or participating in) this movement probably weren’t likely Cain voters anyways, but his strident denunciation here probably won’t win him any converts: “It is not a person’s fault if they succeeded, it is a person’s fault if they failed.” source

06 Oct 2011 16:50

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Politics: Obama pressures Congress to take more action

  • If Congress does something, then I can’t run against a do-nothing Congress. [If they do nothing] then I think the American people will run them out of town.
  • President Barack Obama • Answering a reporter’s question whether he was pursuing a similar reelection strategy to that of Harry Truman’s 1948 campaign against a “do-nothing Congress.” Obama has used a tougher, more confrontational rhetorical style against Congress lately, and while this does have much to do with his push on his proposed jobs bill, you needn’t be a cynic to see this as a desirable campaign strategy. source

05 Oct 2011 10:53

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Politics: Three fairly edgy things Roger Ailes said in his AP interview

  • one On networks that criticize Fox News: “Everybody who’s getting their ass beat vilifies the opponent. This is the first rule of fighting.” Boom.
  • two On an anchor he thinks does it wrong: “Wolf Blitzer is an excellent reporter, but he’s not a star.” He says his back is to the camera too much.
  • three And the coup de grace, on one of his most notable hires: “I hired Sarah Palin because she was hot and got ratings.” Whew. source

04 Oct 2011 20:42

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Politics: Suddenly surging in the polls: Herman Cain. Herman Cain?!

  • He’s tied with Mitt Romney for first in one poll and ahead of Rick Perry in another. Months ago, Herman Cain‘s presidential campaign seemed like something of an underdog, with many people unaware of the former pizza chain executive. Now, with multiple straw-poll wins under his belt, the non-politician is within shouting distance of the lead. RealClearPolitics has him in third place, but if you take out the two oldest polls listed, he rises to second, ahead of Rick Perry, thanks in part to consistent poll numbers and Perry’s own faltering of late. Cain’s worth watching, suddenly. Wow. (photo via Gage Skidmore) source
 

04 Oct 2011 15:12

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Politics: House GOP triples budget to fight same-sex marriage

  • $1.5 million in funding to prevent gays from marrying source
  • » Don’t forget, this is taxpayer money, allocated by House Republicans to their legal counsel to defend DOMA in court. It was originally capped at $500,000, but that limit has since been tripled.

04 Oct 2011 14:37

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Politics: Polling roundup: Cain continues to surge

  • 3 states in which Herman Cain now leads everybody else source
  • » All aboard the Cain Train! Republicans in North Carolina, Nebraska, and West Virginia want Herman Cain as their nominee–he leads all of his opponents in a new PPP poll. A Washington Post/ABC poll released today showed Cain tied with Perry for second nationally, and two polls last week also showed evidence of Cain Fever sweeping the nation. This seems to be at the expense of Rick Perry, who’s collapsing just as fast as Cain is rising (in North Carolina alone, more than half of his supporters have abandoned him, and a Fox News poll last week showed him losing ten points in a month). Romney is still the (perpetually-endangered) frontrunner, but there’s a plausible argument to be made that Cain is now in the top-tier of candidates. Of course, the same thing was once said of both Donald Trump and Michele Bachmann, so take that as you will.

03 Oct 2011 20:02

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Politics: Oops: Hank Williams Jr. isn’t “ready for some football” after comments

  • He compared Obama to Hitler. Now his iconic song is off “Monday Night Football” tonight. Hank Williams Jr. has been the voice of Monday Night Football for over 20 years, but a comment in this “Fox & Friends” segment, where he suggests that John Boehner playing golf with Obama “would be like Hitler playing golf with (Israeli leader) Benjamin Netanyahu,” has cost Williams a spot on ESPN’s long-running franchise this week. (The “Fox & Friends” anchors immediately had a not-so-lovely look on their faces after Williams said that line — with not a little bit of anger, mind you.) Williams, despite being an on-air personality for ESPN and therefore banned from running for political office, has nonetheless expressed interest in running for the U.S. Senate in 2012. source