Greg Mitchell: "RNC Bump--for Obama?"

Greg Mitchell:

As I noted yesterday, fanatics (i.e., yours truly) often go to the main Gallup site at 1 pm for the daily update on their "tracking" polls, which provide the best current view of where a race stands. They've just posted results for today and, despite all the hype about likely Romney "bounce" from the convention, the latest snapshot has the race unchanged at all, with Obama still ahead 47-46. Same thing happened yesterday. But one change today: Obama's approval rate UP one point and disapproval mark DOWN one point. Also: He has gained 3% in approval from those key target voters, the independents.

Ari Melber: "Sometimes you talk to the chair, and sometimes the chair talks to you." (photo)

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE.

Rachel Maddow: "Clint Eastwood RNC Speech Was 'The Weirdest Thing I Have Ever Seen At A Political Convention' (video)

Huffington Post with video (00:43) from MSNBC:

Rachel Maddow was at a loss for words on Thursday after Clint Eastwood finished what was largely considered a bizarre and awkward GOP convention appearance. "I don't -- I don't -- I don't know what was going on there," Maddow said, seemingly tongue-tied. "Clint Eastwood is 82 years old and I think that -- I don't know if that's what was going on there." Maddow attempted to recap Eastwood's speech. "It started off with him clearly off-prompter talking, rambling, about conservatives in Hollywood. He did make one point about the end of the war in Afghanistan and fake interviewed an empty chair as if it was Barack Obama, the President of the United States, swearing at him," she said. As Sen. Marco Rubio took the stage to deliver his speech, Maddow continued to react to Eastwood's remarks. "That was the weirdest thing I've ever seen at a political convention in my entire life, and it will be the weirdest thing I've ever seen if I live to be 100," she said. "Here's Marco Rubio." Maddow was not the only journalist to wonder about Eastwood's comments. Brokaw tweeted that Eastwood became famous as being a man of few words. "As a surprise guest on the Tampa stage he had too many words (I say as a friend)," Brokaw wrote. After the convention was over, Maddow revisited Eastwood's speech and said she did not understand why the video introducing Romney, which she described as "very good," was left out of the prime time hour of coverage so that Eastwood could speak to an empty chair. "I don't mean to make light of other things, but I think the Clint Eastwood thing really, seriously blew [the Romney campaign's] final night, and they're making light of already, but I cannot believe that it happened," Maddow said.

Howie P.S.: The moon does look pretty full tonight. Here's the whole thing, with video (11:33).

LIVE FROM TAMPA (streaming video)

MSNBC, live streaming video.

NY Times on Ryan: "Why was it necessary to lie in the first place?"

David Firestone (NY Times):

TAMPA, Fla.–An army of fact-checkers swarmed around Paul Ryan’s acceptance speech last night, and the verdict was swift and unanimous: lies, omissions, a sweeping rewrite of recent history. But there’s one question no checker can answer: Why was it necessary to lie in the first place?
Mr. Ryan could have made a sharp critique of the Obama years without changing the underlying facts. That he chose not to do so suggests he isn’t sure the facts are on his side. MORE...

TWO "MUST SEES" FOR PAUL RYAN (charts)

The Daily Show: "RNC 2012 - The Road to Jeb Bush 2016 - The Republican Platform" (with video)

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
RNC 2012 - The Road to Jeb Bush 2016 - The Republican Platform
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog The Daily Show on Facebook

The Daily Show, with video (05:00):

At the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Samantha Bee learns that government is meant to protect the individual liberties of everyone lacking a uterus.

Horsey: "Republican National Convention puts a brown face on a white party" (with cartoon)

David Horsey (LA Times):

Until Ann Romney and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie stepped into the prime-time spotlight Tuesday night, the stage at the Republican National Convention was dominated by a parade of racial and ethnic minorities. The same could not be said about the delegates in the hall. As the United States has become an increasingly more diverse country, the Republican Party has maintained a distinctly pale hue. MORE...

Joan Walsh: "Paul Ryan’s brazen lies"

American Heritage Dictionary:

brazen adj. "Marked by flagrant and insolent audacity"

Joan Walsh:

Paul Ryan gave a feisty anti-Obama speech that will have fact-checkers working for days. His most brazen lie accused President Obama of “raiding” Medicare by taking the exact same $716 billion that Ryan and the House GOP notoriously voted to slash. It was stunning. But that’s not all. He attacked Obama for failing to keep open a Janesville GM plant that closed under Bush in 2008. He hit him for a credit-rating downgrade that S&P essentially blamed on GOP intransigence. He claimed that all taxpayers got from the 2009 stimulus was “more debt,” when most got a tax cut (and the stimulus is known to have saved between 1.4 and 3.3 million jobs). He derided the president for walking away from the Simpson Bowles commission deficit-cutting recommendations when Ryan himself, a commission member, voted against those recommendations. He blamed Obama for a deficit mostly created by programs he himself voted for – from two wars, tax cuts, new Medicare benefits and TARP. And of course, he riffed on the tired central lie of the GOP convention: that the president said “government gets the credit” for small businesses, not the business owners themselves. Other than that, it was a great speech. MORE...

H/t to Marcia Kato.

WATCH the Inslee-McKenna Debate Today @ 8pm HERE

KATU, live streaming video.

"Buying A Congressman" (with video)

freespeechtv, with video (02:45):

How much does it cost to buy a congressman? Thom Hartmann talks with congressman in running, Shmuley Boteach, to find out.

Greg Sargent: "Call out the lies right in your headlines"

Greg Sargent:

This doesn’t happen every day, but good for the Los Angeles Times for calling out the ubiquitous falsehood about Obama supposedly waiving welfare reform’s work requirement right in its headline:

Rick Santorum repeats inaccurate welfare attack on Obama

As Kevin Drum says: “it’s about time reporters and copy editors started putting this stuff front and center.” And, indeed, the LA Times does this, in its headline and with this highly placed sentence: “In fact, Obama did not waive the work requirement.”
The lie debunked here, of course, is central to Mitt Romney’s campaign; it is airing in ads in multiple swing states that are reportedly backed by heavy buys, and Romney and his surrogates have been repeating it in one forum after another for weeks on end. MORE...

Howie P.S.: If you have the appetite here's "Fact checking the GOP Convention’s opening night" by Glenn Kessler in the WaPo.

Since they weren't invited to the convention...(photo)

Some things can't be easily Etch-A-Sketched away..

"GOP says McKenna will do what Walker did"

David Groves (The Stand):

OLYMPIA (Aug. 29) — Republican gubernatorial candidate Rob McKenna has gone to great lengths to tell Washington voters that he’s not like Scott Walker, the divisive Wisconsin governor who took away public employees’ bargaining rights and cut their wages and benefits so he could balance his state’s budget while passing more corporate tax cuts. Given that Washington is the 4th most unionized state in the nation and hasn’t voted to elect a Republican governor in 32 years, McKenna’s distancing himself from Walker is smart politically.
But apparently, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell didn’t get that memo. The leader of the Republican Governors Association, said Tuesday at a Republican National Convention event for Washington delegates in Tampa that Rob McKenna would be a leader much like Scott Walker.
“What Scott Walker did in Wisconsin… that’s what (Montana GOP candidate) Rick Hill and Rob McKenna are going to do in their states as well,” McDonnell said. MORE...

the FIELD NEGRO: "The republican party."

the FIELD NEGRO:

I am trying to watch the GOP convention. Trying. Between John Boehner's "man walks into a bar" joke, and the whole "you didn't build that" theme, (I think we all know who built it, and we did it free of charge) I am starting to think that the strip bars in Tampa are going to be filling up a bit early tonight. *yawn*

I am just waiting for my friend from New Jersey to tear himself away from the buffet table and give his speech. It should be interesting. I am sure that as a pro choice politician from the Northeast corridor he won't be talking about things like abortion. And, given his party's position on that issue, that's probably a good thing. Governor Chris will be the guy to tear that Obama fellow a new one, and my wingnut friends are hoping and praying that he will deliver.

Rick Santorum is speaking now. He is talking about life and liberty and how we must kick the beige dude out of the people's house "for the sake of our children". Of course Rick is talking about the unborn again. Rick really cares a lot about the unborn, the kids who are here and living in poverty on the other hand; not so much. MORE...

Bernie Sanders: "Deficit hawk hypocrites"

Bernie Sanders (McClatchy):

Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan and the Republican Party are now mounting a massive attack against Social Security and other programs. Using "deficit reduction" as their rationale, they are attempting to dismantle every major piece of legislation passed since the 1930s that provides support and security to working families.
They are being aided by at least 23 billionaire families, led by the Koch brothers and Sheldon Adelson, who are spending hundreds of millions of dollars in this campaign as a result of the disastrous Citizens United Supreme Court decision. Despite paying the lowest effective tax rate in decades, the billionaires want more tax breaks for the very rich. Despite the fact that the elimination of strong regulations caused the Wall Street meltdown and a terrible recession, the billionaires want more deregulation. Despite outsourcing of millions of good-paying American jobs to China and other low-wage countries, the billionaires want more unfettered free trade.
At this pivotal moment in American history, it's important to note how we got into this deficit crisis, who was responsible and what is the fairest way to address it.
Let us never forget that when Bill Clinton left office in 2001, this country enjoyed a healthy $236 billion SURPLUS.
Under George W. Bush and his fellow "deficit hawks," we went to war in Afghanistan and Iraq. Bush and Congress "forgot" to pay for those wars that will end up adding some $3 trillion to our national debt. Where were Paul Ryan and the other "deficit hawks" when we spent trillions on wars and added to the deficit? They voted for those policies.
Under George W. Bush and his fellow "deficit hawks," we gave huge tax breaks to the wealthiest people in this country, which cost $1 trillion over a decade. Where were Paul Ryan and the other "deficit hawks" when Bush and Congress spent a trillion dollars on tax breaks for the very rich and added to our national debt? They voted for those policies.
Under George W. Bush and his fellow deficit hawks, Congress passed an overly expensive Medicare prescription drug program written by the insurance companies and drug industry. The government was barred from negotiating lower drug prices with the pharmaceutical industry under the program, which will end up adding $400 billion to our national debt over a 10-year period. Where were Paul Ryan and the other "deficit hawks" when Bush and Congress spent $400 billion for a much too expensive prescription drug program? They voted for those policies.
Now, having run up huge deficits, our born-again "deficit hawks" want to cut every program in sight to save money. In order to cover the costs they incurred in Iraq and Afghanistan, they want to cut Social Security. In order to cover the costs of the tax breaks for the rich, they want to cut Medicare and Medicaid. In order to cover the insurance-company-written Medicare prescription drug program, they want to cut education and food stamps.
This approach - balancing the budget on the backs of the elderly, the sick, the children and the poor - is not only immoral, it is bad economic policy. It is something that must be vigorously opposed.
The $16 trillion national debt and the current $1 trillion deficit are serious problems, but they must be addressed in a fair way that will not cripple our economy, lead to the loss of jobs and punish people who are already hurting.
At a time when the wealthiest people in this country are doing phenomenally well and when their effective tax rate is the lowest in decades, the richest people in this country have got to be asked to pay their fair share of taxes.
At a time when corporate profits are soaring and when about one in four major profitable corporations pays nothing in federal income taxes, we must end corporate loopholes and demand that corporate America starts paying its fair share of taxes.
At a time when this country loses $100 billion every single year because wealthy people and corporations stash money in tax havens in the Cayman Islands and elsewhere, we must crack down on abusive tax cheats.
The United States military budget has virtually tripled since 1997, and we now spend nearly as much as the rest of the world combined. It is time to take a hard look at military spending.
There are serious and responsible ways to move this country toward deficit reduction. Unfortunately, that's not what Romney and Ryan are talking about. For them, it's the same old Republican saga: more tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, and more austerity and pain for the most vulnerable people in this country.

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/08/24/163397/deficit-hawk-hypocrites.html#storylink=cpy

Howie P.S.: After watching the pep rally in Tampa last night (and you can add Chris Christie to the list above), I decided to post all of Bernie's thoughts on this page today, without my usual "MORE...".

"Election 2012: West Seattle viewing party for Democrats’ nomination night"

West Seattle Blog:
The night of the 2008 general election, the biggest public Election Night watch party in town was at Skylark Café and Club in North Delridge. For this year’s election season, Skylark also will be the site of a watch party the night President Obama accepts his party’s nomination at the Democratic National Convention. Skylark proprietor Jessie SK tells WSB the event, organized by local campaign reps, is set for 5-8:30 pm Thursday, September 6th. (According to the event’s outline, the president’s speech is expected between 6:30 and 7:30 pm.).

 Howie P.S: I'll be there at Skylark.

"Watch live: Republican National Convention in Tampa" (live streaming video)

Raw Story with live streaming video from MSNBC..

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: RNC Opens with Pol who "Should be in Jail"

Greg Palast:

"Tim Griffin should be in jail." That's the conclusion of civil rights attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr. after going through the evidence I asked him to review.
But Griffin's not in jail: he's in Congress. And Tuesday, he'll be the first Congressman the Republicans have chosen to bring to their convention podium.
 Predictably, I haven't seen one US press report noting that in 2007, Griffin resigned from the Justice Department in disgrace, ahead of what could have been (should have been), his indictment.
Kennedy thought a couple of other characters should join Griffin in the lock-up: first, Griffin's boss, the man whom George W. Bush gave the nickname, "Turdblossom": Karl Rove.
And there's yet another odiferous blossom, Griffin's assistant at the time of the crime: Matt Rhoades. Rhoades isn't in jail either. He's the campaign director of presidential candidate Mitt Romney. MORE...

the FIELD NEGRO: "Lee Atwater would be proud."

the FIELD NEGRO:

Now this from N****r lover, Tim Wise:

"For the most part, I’ve tried to be restrained.

Although conservatives accuse those of us on the left of thinking that all critiques of President Obama are rooted in racism, this has certainly never been my argument. Indeed, I’ve written two books highly critical of Obama’s positions on a number of issues (from a place well to his left), and am fully aware that decent, honest people can disagree with Barack Obama from the right, too, without their disagreements serving as proof of some latent, let alone blatant, bigotry or anti-black bias.

That said, what I have also long maintained — and what seems increasingly evident as we move into the heart of the 2012 campaign — is that the style of opposition, its specific form, and its particular content are too often embedded in a narrative of white racial resentment, white racial anxiety, and a desire to “other” the president in ways that go well beyond the politically partisan. It is not that criticisms of Obama are quantitatively racist, per se, but rather that they are qualitatively so in too many instances; a distinction, yes, but one that does not alter the underlying reality.

In other words, it is one thing to disagree, even mightily, with a president’s policies. It is quite another to suggest that that president is really a foreign imposter: over, and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. And to accept no proof, no matter how extensive, that he really is an American after all.*" [Read More]

Read more of the story with the link I provided. Wise goes on to give some excellent examples of racist republican dog whistles and what seems to be a Lee Atwater style campaign to reach out to the darker souls in their party. (Lots of those.)   MORE...

"Fear of a Black President" (with video)

Ta-Nehisi Coates with video (05:31):

The irony of President Barack Obama is best captured in his comments on the death of Trayvon Martin, and the ensuing fray. Obama has pitched his presidency as a monument to moderation. He peppers his speeches with nods to ideas originally held by conservatives. He routinely cites Ronald Reagan. He effusively praises the enduring wisdom of the American people, and believes that the height of insight lies in the town square. Despite his sloganeering for change and progress, Obama is a conservative revolutionary, and nowhere is his conservative character revealed more than in the very sphere where he holds singular gravity—race. MORE...

H/t to Cynthia Boaz.

"Fear and Loathing in Tampa" (Updated)

UPDATE: For the mid-town version of the story here's "For Big Givers, Cash and Clout Arrive Together" from The New York Times.

(CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE) UPDATE: Michael E. Miller (The Village Voice):

From cash-hungry strippers to protesters dressed as vaginas, your gonzo guide to the Republican National Convention---As Republicans prepared to renominate Richard Nixon for president, journalist Hunter S. Thompson had a moment of clarity inside his Miami Beach hotel room. "This may be the year when we finally come face to face with ourselves," Thompson wrote in his classic Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72. "We are really just a nation of 220 million used-car salesmen with all the money we need to buy guns and no qualms at all about killing anybody else in the world who tries to make us uncomfortable. MORE...

Howie P.S.: Want a sneak preview of what a Romney-Ryan Land would look like?

"Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan: The Do-Over" (video)

BarackObamadotcom, with video (01:44):

Make sure Romney's do-over stays on the cutting room floor: http://OFA.BO/CYghPw

This is the exclusive online trailer premiere of the Romney-Ryan campaign's GOP convention reinvention of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan: "The Do-Over."

Romney advisers believe he's viewed as "stiff, aloof and distant" and that the GOP Convention will be "a chance for a fresh start". Their plan includes Mad Men "slick packaging" and a "theatrical," hollywood-style reinvention.

Opening this week in Tampa, Florida—Mitt Romney's convention reinvention: "Do-Over".

"Wind threatens to blow down chart at Romney energy event" (video)

dkostv, with video (00:27):

Irony is: Romney doesn't want to use wind energy.

"Salon’s Joan Walsh takes Mitt Romney to school" (with video)

 Current.com with video (02:22):

Joan Walsh, editor-in-chief of Salon and author of “What’s the Matter With White People” joins Jennifer Granholm in ‘The War Room’ to talk about campaign ads, the election and Mitt Romney navigating through all the “gifts,” as Granholm calls them, that keep popping up on the campaign trail. “This is ridiculous, you cannot run a presidential campaign where you pick and choose the issues that you will discuss,” Walsh says.

"Rob McKenna: Release Your Tax Returns"

JayInslee.com:

This week, Jay Inslee made his last five tax returns public. But Rob McKenna hasn't. Use the form on this page (@the link above) to send him a message and urge him to do the same!
If you prefer to send a message to Rob McKenna on Facebook, click here to visit his Facebook page.

"The Definitive Guide to the Medicare Debate" (with chart)

(CLICK ON CHART TO ENLARGE)  

Jonathan Cohn (The NEW Republic):

Ryan and Mitt Romney have called for the most profound, radical changes in the program’s history. But rather than clarifying the differences between their position on Medicare and President Obama’s, they’ve done their best to obscure them. They’ve accused Obama of “raiding” Medicare when Ryan’s own budget calls for reducing the program’s funding by the same amount of money. They have insisted they won’t do anything to affect current retirees, even though they have pledged to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which bolsters Medicare’s drug coverage and makes preventative care available without out-of-pocket expenses. MORE...

"Sen. Patty Murray talks tax bill @ Husky Deli" (with video)

westseattleblog, with video (16:30):

West Seattle Blog video of U.S. Senator Patty Murray leading a news conference at Husky Deli, regarding the tax-cut-extension bill that won Senate approval but not U.S. House approval, so far. FIRST REPORT, 1:34 PM: That’s Husky Deli owner Jack Miller with visiting U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, there right now – as previewed here on Wednesday – to talk about the tax-cut-extension bill that’s cleared the Senate but not the U.S. House. We’ll add video later of what Sen. Murray, Miller, and others at the news conference had to say. (In case you are wondering, no, this is not a campaign visit – Sen. Murray won a new six-year term two years ago.) Miller introduced Sen. Murray by talking about his 80-year-old family business and its 40 or so employees, and the challenges of competing against “big stores,” as well as the importance of tax breaks. Sen. Murray said that taxes will go up unless Senate Bill 3412 is passed to extend current tax cuts. In addition to those who you will see speaking in the video – Merryweather Books owner Mary Clark follows Sen. Murray – other local business reps were on hand.

"From left with Miller, Junction-based attorney Jerome O. Cohen, West Seattle Junction Association‘s Liz Schroeder, and West 5 owner Dave Montoure (who also chairs the WS Chamber of Commerce board)."

Greg Sargent: "The Obama campaign’s theory of the presidential race" (with video)

Greg Sargent with video (00:33):

What we’re seeing here, I believe, is the beginning of the Obama campaign’s pivot to a more concerted effort to draw a contrast between what an Obama second term would look like and what a Romney presidency would look like. And yet, paradoxically, Clinton needs to reach into the distant past to draw this contrast.
In the spot, Clinton focuses on the future and on the past before Obama was president. The contrast it draws is between Clinton and Obama’s approach on the one hand and Bush’s and Romney’s approach on the other. As Steve Kornacki notes, the ad plays the Bush card without saying his name. The ad also draws this contrast without discussing what has happened under Obama. Clinton carefully says Obama has “a plan” and that we “need to keep going with his plan.” This stops just short of saying the recovery is underway, but it hints that we’re moving foward and promises recovery in the future, just as happened under Clinton.
In other words, the ad rebuts one key part of Romney’s argument (Obama doesn’t have the answer; I do) by reframing this as a choice between the Clinton and Bush approach. But it doesn’t directly take on the other part of Romney’s argument (you have already shown your approach has failed).
This is rooted, I believe, in a reading of the electorate by the Obama campaign that has gone underappreciated. The Obama camp makes a distinction between whether voters think Obama has failed, and whether they are merely disappointed that he hasn’t lived up to expectations, but find that understandable given the situation he inherited. This is a crucial difference that is central to understanding this race, one that turned up in my conversations with undecided voters in Colorado.
The Obama camp believes that the latter description is a more accurate reading of the electorate’s verdict. This allows them to make the case in the ad above — that Romney doesn’t have the answer. The gamble is that even if things are bad, Obama’s approach has not been discredited; voters won’t see this election as a decision to end a presidency that has failed; they will take a long view of the situation and see the election as a choice between two parties with differing views on a range of issues, between two overall visions of the future, and ultimately, between two men. Given the tattered shape of the GOP brand, voter willingness to blame Bush more than Obama for the current state of things, and Romney’s negatives, the Obama camp believes this framing will play in their favor. MORE...

Mitt to students: "Shop Around" (with video)

DemRapidResponse, with video (00:45):

The Romney-Ryan education plan? Shop around, borrow money from your parents. The Romney-Ryan plan would: -Slash Pell Grants for nearly 10 million students -Cut $10,000 college tax credits Mitt Romney also hiked fees at state MA colleges by 63% as governor. "Shop around"? Students can't afford Mitt Romney.

Seattle resident tells us about voter suppression in Pennsylvania

Susanna Williams:

My mother lives in Pennsylvania. She has been a full time resident since 1985. Her driver's license reads "S. Dreisbach-Williams". The DOL made that decision for her. That's not what she wrote on the application. Her voter registration reads "Susan Dreisbach-Williams". The two don't match. Her ability to cast a vote in this November's election rests on the whims and partisan feelings of an individual elections director and / or poll worker. She is a 64 year old well educated white woman and a consistent voter. Pennsylvania is a scary, scary place these days.

"Assange speaks" (video)

ukipwebmaster, video (10:35).

"NPR: States Aren't Submitting Records to Gun Database" (audio)

NPR, audio (04:32).

"Jon Stewart Blasts Republicans For Divisive Hypocrisy" (video)

The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

HuffPo with video (05:31) from Comedy Central:
On Wednesday night's "Daily Show," Jon Stewart was a little confused by the growing trend of "positivity" in Mitt Romney's campaign. In a speech on Tuesday, the GOP candidate made a call for Americans to come together in the same sentence that he instructed the current President to "take [his] campaign of division and anger and hate back to Chicago."
"As a general rule, I find it helps not to frame a plea for national unity by insulting a major city within that nation," Stewart joked.
But the hypocrisy wasn't limited to that one comment. The last few months alone are a veritable treasure trove of divisive language from Mitt's side of the aisle, and Stewart has the footage to prove it.

FLASHBACK MEMO TO ALL WA DEMS: "Rossi lost four votes from his total, pushing Gregoire's margin to 133"

SeattlePI.com:

But after spending millions of dollars, months on investigations and two weeks in trial, the net result for the Republicans today was that Rossi lost four votes from his total, pushing Gregoire's margin to 133.(Emphasis by me) MORE...

Endorsements: I-502

newapproachwa.org:

The following organizations and individuals stand with New Approach Washington in calling for an end to failed marijuana policies, and endorse Initiative 502:

Organizations
ACLU of Washington
Asian Pacific Islander Coalition
El Centro de la Raza
Fuse Washington
Green Party of Washington State
King County Bar Association
Latina/o Bar Association of Washington
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP)
Metropolitan Democratic Club of Seattle
Minority Executive Directors Coalition
National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum – Seattle Chapter
National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML)
Office & Professional Employees International Union – Local 8
Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane
Puget Sound Alliance for Retired Americans
Sailors’ Union of the Pacific
Seattle Building and Construction Trades Council
Surge NW
Washington State Democrats
Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO
Young Democrats of Washington State
Benton County Democrats
Franklin County Democrats
King County Democrats
Kitsap County Democrats
Lewis County Democrats
Lincoln County Democrats
Pierce County Democrats
Skagit County Democrats
Snohomish County Democrats
Spokane County Democrats
Thurston County Democrats
Whatcom County Democrats
Whitman County Democrats
Yakima County Democrats
1st Legislative District Democrats
5th Legislative District Democrats
8th Legislative District Democrats
11th Legislative District Democrats
14th Legislative District Democrats
21st Legislative District Democrats
23rd Legislative District Democrats
30th Legislative District Democrats
31st Legislative District Democrats
32nd Legislative District Democrats
34th Legislative District Democrats
36th Legislative District Democrats
38th Legislative District Democrats
39th Legislative District Democrats
40th Legislative District Democrats
43rd Legislative District Democrats
44th Legislative District Democrats
45th Legislative District Democrats
46th Legislative District Democrats Individuals Robert Alsdorf, former King County Superior Court Judge Sherry Appleton, Washington State Representative Rev. Steve E. Baber, Pastor, Skyway United Methodist Church Sally Bagshaw, Seattle City Councilmember Harriet Bullitt, CEO, Sleeping Lady Mountain Resort Tim Burgess, Seattle City Councilmember Rev. Leslie David Braxton, Senior Pastor, New Beginnings Christian Fellowship Lisa Brown, Washington State Senate Majority Leader Maralyn Chase, Washington State Senator Bill Clapp, President and Co-Founder, Seattle International Foundation Sally J. Clark, Seattle City Council President Richard Conlin, Seattle City Councilmember Dow Constantine, King County Executive Benjamin S. Danielson, MD, Clinic Director, Odessa Brown Children's Clinic Hans Dunshee, Washington State Representative Jodie Emery, publisher, Cannabis Culture Magazine Marc Emery, Canadian cannabis policy reform advocate Jan (Michels) Erickson, former Executive Director, Washington State Bar Association Rabbi Ted Falcon, Ph.D, Founder of Be Alef Meditative Synagogue Cynthia G. Ferrucci, MD, University of Washington Health System Rob Fieldman, former State Director, Washington Career and Technical Education, OSPI Joe Fitzgibbon, Washington State Representative Jean Godden, Seattle City Councilmember Roger Goodman, Washington State Representative Larry Gossett, King County Councilmember Judge James P. Gray (Ret.), U.S. Vice Presidential Candidate Bruce Harrell, Seattle City Councilmember Bob Hasegawa, Washington State Representative Sam Hunt, Washington State Representative Anders Ibsen, Tacoma City Councilmember Laurie Jinkins, Washington State Representative Gary Johnson, U.S. Presidential Candidate and former New Mexico governor Adam Kline, Washington State Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles, Washington State Senator Richard Lee, founder, Oaksterdam University Anne Levinson, former Seattle Municipal Court Judge and former Seattle Deputy Mayor Nick Licata, Seattle City Councilmember Marko Liias, Washington State Representative Rev. Carl L. Livingston, Jr., Senior Pastor, Kingdom Christian Center Yvonne Lopez-Morton, Spokane Community Activist Charles Mandigo, former Special Agent in Charge, Seattle Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation Dorothy Holland Mann, PhD, MPH, former Regional Health Administrator, U.S. Public Health Service Michael McGinn, Seattle Mayor Luis Moscoso, Washington State Representative Ed Murray, Washington State Senator Sharon Nelson, Washington State Senator David A. Nichols, Whatcom County Superior Court Judge, Ret. Greg Nickels, former Seattle City Mayor and Secretary of State Candidate Mike O'Brien, Seattle City Councilmember Jamie Pedersen, Washington State Representative Katrina C. Pflaumer, former U.S. Attorney, Western District of Washington Margarita Prentice, Washington State Senator Tom Rasmussen, Seattle City Councilmember Chris Reykdal, Washington State Representative Mary Helen Roberts, Washington State Representative Cindy Ryu, Washington State Representative Mike Sells, Washington State Representative Ron Sims, former Deputy Secretary for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (2009-2011), King County Executive (1996-2009), and King County Councilmember (1985-1996) Derrick Skaug, Pullman City Councilmember Norm Stamper, former Seattle Police Chief Ben Stuckart, Spokane City Council President Jolene Unsoeld, former U.S. Congresswoman and Washington State Representative Dave Upthegrove, Washington State Representative John Urquhart, King County Sheriff Candidate Ken Valz, former Thurston County Deputy Prosecutor Rev. Percy Happy Watkins, Senior Pastor, New Hope Baptist Church

President Obama: "Romney's Running Mate Would Have Him Pay Less Than 1% In Taxes" (video)

OFAClips, video (02:13).

"We've Come Too Far to Turn Back Now" (with video)

BarackObamadotcom, with video (02:29):

"Four years ago as I had the privilege to travel all across this country and meet Americans from all walks of life. I decided nobody else should have to endure the heartbreak of a broken health care system. No one in the wealthiest nation on earth should go broke because they get sick. Nobody should have to tell their daughters or sons the decisions they can and cannot make for themselves are constrained because of some politicians in Washington. And thanks to you we've made a difference in people's lives. Thanks to you there are folks that I meet today who have gotten care and their cancer's been caught. And they've got treatment. And they are living full lives and it happened because of you. We've come too far to turn back now. We've got too much work to do to implement health care. We've got too much work to do to create good jobs. We've got too many teachers that we've got to hire. We've got too many schools that we've got to rebuild. We've got too many students who still need affordable higher education. There's more homegrown energy to generate. There more troops that we've got to bring home. There more doors of opportunity we've got to open to anybody who is willing to work hard and walk through those doors. We've got to keep building an economy where no matter what you look like or where you come from, you can make it here if you try. And you can leave something behind for the next generation, that's what at stake right now Colorado. That's why I'm running for President of the United States of America. That's why I'm asking for your vote. I still believe in you. And if you still believe in me, and if you're willing to stand with me, and knock on some doors with me, and make some phone calls with me, and talk to your neighbor and friends about what's at stake—we will win this election. We will finish what we started. And we'll remind the world why America is the greatest nation on earth. God bless you and God bless the United States of America."

"Keep On Lyin' Mitt Romney (Medicare)" (audio)

Keep On Lyin' Mitt Romney (Medicare) by Rocky Mountain Mike Rocky Mountain Mike, audio (03:10).

Meet "Shanimal"- Obama WA '08 Leader and 2012 Delegate to the Democratic National Convention

TiltedThunder.com:

How did you come up with your derby name and number?
Whiskey Ginger came up with it when I was starting Flight School as a play on my real name; I loved it and thought it suited me well. MIR Code 260 is Seattle Police Code for Dangerous Animal. "miR" also stands for miRNA, which is an endogenous gene regulatory mechanism, and I sell miRNA. "miR260" is a specific miRNA for C. elegans, so it's a regulatory element of a WORM, a common drill in Roller Derby. Yes, I'm a biology nerd.
Why did you join TTRB?
I’ve been a roller derby fan since 2005, but didn’t think I could do it due to 3 surgeries on my left ankle. After watching the first two TTRB banked track bouts, I was hooked, and Whiskey Ginger urged me to give it a try with the first ever TTRB Flight School. I also really like the roller derby culture, which reminds me of my college faux sorority, the Sponges: empowered women with a sense of camaraderie who work hard and play hard.
How long have you been skating?
If you exclude birthday parties as a kid, I went to Lynnwood Bowl & Skate 4 or 5 times before starting Flight School in mid-January 2011.
What derby related injuries, if any, have you had?
No serious ones yet, just lots of bruises, blisters, and a skate wheel up the bum (yeoch!)
How has derby improved your life?
Most notably, I’ve made some awesome friends and I’ve gotten in the best shape I’ve been in since college—a happy side effect of 4+ practices/week.
What do you do with your time, other than derby?
I’m a serial hobbyist: cheesemaking, stained glass, woodworking, gardening, cooking
What is your biggest fear?
I fear getting attacked by butterflies while trapped underwater, under a sheet of ice. Thankfully aquatic butterflies have not yet been discovered, so they must be rare. Realistically though: I fear myself becoming a completely awful person, plus being unaware of it.
What makes you happy?
Manimal—my hubby of 10 years, my puppies, good friends, good food & beverage, and being successful at trying new things.
What is your favorite color?
PURPLE! Specifically the eggplant-y shade.
What is your beverage of choice?
Beer, and nothing beats a good bourbon barrel aged stout.

Jen Sorensen "Olympic memories" (cartoon)

(CLICK TO ENLARGE) Jen Sorensen (Daily Kos):

McDonald's being the official restaurant of the Olympics is a bit like XBox being the official study aid of the National Spelling Bee. But, of course, the biggest crime of this year's games coverage was the omission of Ray Davies from the U.S. broadcast of the closing ceremony.

David Stockman: "Paul Ryan’s Fairy-Tale Budget Plan"

David Stockman (NY Times, op-ed):

Paul Ryan is the most articulate and intellectually imposing Republican of the moment, but that doesn’t alter the fact that this earnest congressman from Wisconsin is preaching the same empty conservative sermon. Thirty years of Republican apostasy — a once grand party’s embrace of the welfare state, the warfare state and the Wall Street-coddling bailout state — have crippled the engines of capitalism and buried us in debt. Mr. Ryan’s sonorous campaign rhetoric about shrinking Big Government and giving tax cuts to “job creators” (read: the top 2 percent) will do nothing to reverse the nation’s economic decline and arrest its fiscal collapse. MORE...

H/t to Ed Walker.

WA: "I-502 Opponents Break Out the Clown Shoes"

Lee (horsesass.org):

If you didn’t see what happened at the anti I-502 press conference today, here’s what you missed: MORE...

"Romney and Ryan run from Ryan plan" (video)

MSNBC-The Last Word, video (10:01). Alex Wagner and Ari Melber chat with Lawrence O'Donnell.

"Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan: Back to the Failed Top-Down Policies" (with video)

BarackObamadotcom, with video (01:35):

Learn more about Romney and Ryan: http://OFA.BO/hunUfC

Paul Ryan is the mastermind behind the extreme GOP budget plan. It's a plan Mitt Romney endorses.

But what does that budget mean for America? The GOP budget plan hurts seniors, it hurts middle-class families, and it hurts students. All to pay for tax cuts for those at the top..

Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan: back to the failed top-down policies that crashed our economy.

"Maddow: Republican voter suppression efforts are deadly serious" (with video)

MSNBC-Rachel Maddow, with video (07:55):

Early voting is being stabbed to death in Ohio, and Republicans are holding the knives.
On Friday night’s episode of “The Rachel Maddow Show,” the MSNBC host explained that the state’s last three days of early voting, traditionally a time when churches and other urban community groups mobilize voters, have been canceled by Jon Husted, Ohio’s Republican Secretary of State. And that will mean longer lines in Democratic-leaning cities come election day. MORE...

"Biden: McConnell told Republicans to obstruct from the start" (with video from The ED Show)

MSNBC, video (08:44):

A new book has Vice President Joe Biden on the record stating that Republican Senators warned him early on that Sen. Mitch McConnell had ordered the GOP to oppose whatever President Obama proposed. The Ed Show panel weighs in on what this says about the Republican party and what it means for the upcoming election.

"Voter ID laws: the Republican ruse to disenfranchise 5 million Americans"

"Civil rights groups say the restrictions amounts to an attack on voting rights on a level not seen since segregation." Photograph: Tim Sloan/AFP/Getty Images. 

Alex Slater (GuardianUK):

Under the guise of fighting nonexistent voter fraud, the GOP is attempting the greatest election-stealing conspiracy in US history--- In Washington, conventional wisdom is everything. It's the driver of perceptions, and often of self-fulfilling political prophecies. That's why you might notice a guarded confidence amongst the Obama campaign these past few weeks: generally speaking, most realistic experts predict a victory for the president in this November's election.
This perception is reinforced by current polling, some of the most recent being published by Quinnipiac University, the New York Times and CBS News, giving President Obama an edge over Romney in key states like Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida. Certainly, it will be a tight race, but by any realistic standard, the money is on Obama to pull out a victory, even narrowly.
But it's exactly the likely closeness of the race that may turn Washington's conventional wisdom on its head on election day. That's because, until relatively recently, political experts and journalists have been oblivious to a widespread and pernicious phenomenon occurring in many critical swing states – one that, unless checked, could erase Obama's electoral edge. MORE...

"Jon Stewart tackles voter fraud" (video)

The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Salon, with video (03:50):

Voter fraud threatens to undermine American democracy — or so Fox News would have us believe. Jon Stewart takes on this and other (imaginary) problems that seem to surface mostly in swing states.

H/t to Marcia Kato.

"Son of Boss" - Obama for America TV Ad" (with video)

BarackObamadotcom, with video (00:30):

Reporter:
"Was there ever any year where you paid lower than the 13.9%?"

Mitt Romney:
"I haven't calculated that. I'm happy to go back and look."

Voiceover:
"Did Romney pay 10% in taxes? 5%? Zero? We don't know."

"But we do know that Romney personally approved over $70 million in fictional losses to the IRS as part of the notorious Son of Boss tax scandal. One of the largest tax avoidance schemes in history."

"Isn't it time for Romney to come clean?"

Daily Kos: DelBene Bests Burner in WA-01 Primary Vote

David Jarman (Daily Kos):

Tue Aug 07, 2012 at 10:05 PM PT (David Jarman): Finally, let's recap in Washington. The main event in the Evergreen State was in WA-01, left open by Jay Inslee and then significantly reddened in redistricting. Lone Republican John Koster easily advanced, and won the second slot among the Dems more easily than expected: the scorecard (in the Top 2 primary) goes Koster 44, DelBene 23, Darcy Burner 15, Laura Ruderman 7, Steve Hobbs 7, Darshan Rauniyar 2, and indie Larry Ishmael 2. That's a cumulative 54-44 in favor of the Dems, which, if you subscribe to the train of thought that the Top 2 is a useful predictor of November, is pretty good news.
WA-06 and WA-10 -- both open seats in light-blue districts -- were interesting to the extent that it wasn't certain which Republican would advance. The AP has just called both those races: In the 6th, it'll be Dem state Sen. Derek Kilmer vs. timber baron Bill Driscoll; they finished 54-18, with the large GOP balance going to assorted perennial candidates and Paulists. (That's a 54-42 Dem advantage overall.) And in the 10th, it'll be Dem ex-state Rep. Denny Heck vs. GOP Pierce Co. Councilor Dick Muri; they finished 41-26, with 15 for GOPer Stan Flemming and 12 for Dem Jennifer Ferguson. (That's a 53-41 Dem advantage overall.)
The gubernatorial race is interesting only in the sense of the Top 2's predictive value; Dem Jay Inslee and GOPer Rob McKenna advanced with no trouble, with Inslee leading McKenna 47-43. (The overall total is a 51-47 Dem advantage.)
The Dems may also be on track to picking up the open AG and SoS positions, both of which have eluded them for years and which would, assuming their incumbents hold, give the Dems control of all the statewide offices. In the AG race, Dem Bob Ferguson is at 52 and GOPer Reagan Dunn is at 38 (for a 52-47 Dem advantage overall). In the SoS race, GOPer Kim Wyman and Dem Kathleen Drew advance; they were at 39 and 22, with 16 for Greg Nickels and 14 for Jim Kastama. (That's good for a 52-39 Dem advantage overall.)

NewApproachWA: "August 2012 Television Ad" (video)

NewApproachWA, video (00:31).

Peter Dreier: "Age vs. Class" and the battle over Social Security.

Peter Dreier (email):

The battle over Social Security pits the 1% vs 99%, but NYT columnist Bill Keller wants to frame it as a battle of all baby-boomers vs. younger Americans. This is a CLASS issue, not an AGE issue. Last week, NYT columnist Bill Keller got a lot of attention for column called “The Entitled Generation.”  Keller is echoing the establishment view that the middle class and working class should sacrifice their Social Security benefits. Keller, who is the son of former Chevron CEO George Keller, seems blinded by his own entitlement. As economist Dean Baker point out in this critique of the Keller view, and his suggestions for reforming Social Security, rich baby-boomers can afford to “sacrifice”, but most baby-boomer Americans rely on their Social Security to make ends meet. 

Politico: "Who won July: Inslee"

David Catanese (Politico):

After hitting the airwaves with a pair of sunny introductory ads, Inslee finally saw polling in his favor with a pair of public surveys that showed him tied or inching ahead of McKenna. While the GOP attorney general’s nearly $1 million cash-on-hand advantage underscores his fundraising prowess, July was otherwise littered with unforced errors for McKenna. A policy aide was forced to resign after tweeting offensive comments about Asians and the elderly. The Supreme Court ruling upholding the health care law appeared to catch McKenna flat-footed. At an appearance in Yakima, he clumsily acknowledged he “wasn’t ready for that question” when asked about the affirmative ruling.
During another stop, he scurried away from a local television reporter seeking reaction — an awkward episode that was broadcast on the evening news and gave a new meaning to the term “front-runner.” The next test is which contender will net more votes in Tuesday’s primary.
Who won July: Inslee
Latest poll: Inslee 43%, McKenna 36% (The Elway Poll, 405 registered voters, July 18-22)

"Job Creation" (photo)

From Obama for America's Facebook page.