The GOP War on Women is Alive and Well

Did these guys not read the elction results?  After watching the GOP debacle with women over the past couple years, whether it be abortion, birth control or fair pay, it's pretty clear:  The GOP does not view women as capable of making their own decisions, but now what's even more clear, is they've taken steps to ensure women have no rights if they find themselves in a violent relationship.

The John Boehner led Republicans have let expire, the Violence Against Women Act, first introduced in 1994 and reinstated without fanfare until the teabagger coalition got to town.  What were their major complaints?  It actually covered gays, immigrants, and Native Americans.  Can you believe it?  Those sneaky Democrats actually think that those women need protection too.  Commie bastards!  In case you're curious as to what it did, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), increased federal penalties for domestic violence and provided funding for groups and services that aid victims of domestic abuse. The bill was once a bipartisan sweet spot of being both tough on crime and oriented toward women's rights.  But that was then. 

In case the election blunders about legitimate rape and rape pregnancies being a gift from God, binders full of women, etc... didn’t clue you in to the GOP’s gender issues, this should.  Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the Democratic point person on VAWA, called the move “inexcusable” in a statement. “But this seems to be how House Republican leadership operates.”
Read more at MaddowBlog

Boehner Reads Polls, Caves on Payroll Tax Break Extension

Faced with criticism from across the political spectrum and abandoned by Senate allies, House Republicans bowed to political reality Thursday and agreed to a two-month extension of a payroll tax cut for 160 million Americans. After promising to hold their breath, hoping to die and sticking a needle in their eye until they got further cuts to programs benefitting those in need, their bluff was called. The tax break is backed by President Barack Obama, and was initially brought up as part of his job stimulation program. The break involves keeping payroll taxes down by 4.2 percent until February, continuing extended unemployment benefits and maintaining the present Medicare reimbursement rates for doctors. A similar deal was rejected by the Republican-dominated House of Representatives on Tuesday after being approved by the Senate. This time House Republicans supported the bill since their political suicide was pointed out to them by their wingnut collegues in the Senate. When Mitch McConnell becomes a voice of reason, you know you've really lost control of the conversation.

The Boehner or Vermont? - Vermont Wins

The Vermont state Senate gave preliminary approval Monday to health care legislation that is a key part of Gov. Peter Shumlin's agenda. The bill, a version of which already has been passed by the House, would put Vermont on a path toward what it calls a "universal and unified health system" and what the Democratic governor calls single-payer health care, with the objective of ensuring health insurance coverage for every resident. If the reptilians (aka GOP) in D.C. get their way killing Medicare, Vermont might find itself with more residents, unless other states catch on...which I think blue states will.

Think Progress: The Vermont sate Senate Passes Bill establishing A Single Payer Health Care System In The State

Meanwhile, we have the Republicans in D.C doing the opposite for the people.:

Undaunted by the backlash Republicans are facing in town halls all over the country since Paul Ryan's "Path To Poverty" was disclosed. Agent Orange Boehner, or as I like to call him, "The Boner," decided to double-down on a policy 80% of Americans are against, including the majority of Republicans. I'm telling you --- they are rigging 2012 behind the scenes. Their ongoing, blatent disregard for what voters want is a warning. Voters overwhelmingly want the wealthiest to be taxed at a higher rate as opposed to cutting spending on programs such as Medicare and Social Security. Will the Democrats call their bluff and fight back?

The Raw Story: Boehner flirts with debt default if Dems don't accept Medicare cuts

These are what town hall meetings look like after a "destroy Medicare" vote:

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

Jess McIntosh Discusses Boehners' America - Men Folk Know Better

EMILY's List Spokesperson, Jess McIntosh appeared on MSNBC today to discuss the GOP's bait-and-switch with American voters. The House Republicans are trying to restrict women's access to health care rather than focusing on job creation as they had pledged to do. I wasn't particularly impressed with Tamron Hall's line of questioning either. Very weak interview.

How can any self-respecting woman or any evolved man vote for anyone in the Neanderthal Party? This non-stop attack on womens rights since the regressives took over the majority of Congress in January is sickening. I find it appauling that middle-aged dudes on viagra are dictating womens reproductive rights. C'mon liberals, fight back before they successfully take us backwards!

It's Time To Stop Pretending There's A Liberal Media

Where to begin, where to begin...  On October 30 Comedy Central comedians Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert hosted a rally: Restore Sanity/Keep Fear Alive. It was a three hour event with over 250,000 in attendance far eclipsing the 87,000 who attended Mormon Glenn Beck's Beckevangelist Event on August 28. The 30th was a beautiful day, an awesome line-up of musicians were assembled to entertain the excited crowd. Lots of smiling faces, a lot of good humor and like I said a lot of good music. All in all, a wonderful day. As the event was concluding, Stewart spoke for about 15 minutes on how we can restore sanity and here is where my issue begins. In my heart of hearts I believe Mr. Stewart who I have very high regard for went overboard in trying to prove he's a middle-of-the-road guy. Yes, he said some incredibly powerful things that are applicable to all, "But we live now in hard times, not end times. And we can have animus and not be enemies." Yet he also wanted to equate equal blame to both sides and this is where I take issue. FNC has spent nearly 15 years dividing this country with loud personalities telling us that liberals are Marxists, communists, anti-American, etc... A montage played in the background of Fox's most egregious personalities alternating with snippets of MSNBC hosts. What Stewart failed to mention was that the Fox hosts are "keeping fear alive" and the MSNBC hosts are trying to "restore sanity," by debunking the myths perpetrated by the likes of Fox. While Stewart himself has portrayed the Tea Party as racists, and I believe a large portion of them are as we've all seen their signs; he took aim at Ed Schultz for doing the same thing and then claimed that it's an insult for people to not see the difference in the tea party and actual racism. Sorry Mr. Stewart, that was a total BS comment and something that you're also guilty of. As a matter of fact, Jon has actually told Fox to "f#%k off" on a few occasions. Does the MSNBC gang ever go over the top? Sure they do, but they remain grounded in the world of reality. I know, I know some will claim it's because I view the world from their viewpoint and while that may be true, they're not constantly being dinged for making stuff up and when they do get something wrong, they own up to it and apologize. At the end of the day I found myself wondering what the reactions from those on the montage would be and it was pretty much as I expected. Here goes:

• Keith Olbermann tweeted respectfully, what he does is not the same, but in a gesture toward “lowering the volume" in news coverage, suspended his "Worst Person in the World" segment.
• On Monday Bill O'Reilly claimed that after Tuesday nights election, all the MSNBC hosts were going to commit suicide.
• Rachel Maddow said well done to Jon Stewart (she was noticeably absent from the montage).
• Glenn Beck said it was the equivalent of a high-school play; it was not good and referring to much of the rally as nonsense.

Guess which side understood the message...the side not responsible for the insanity.

So along came Tuesday's mid-terms, the Democrats were crushed in the House. We're now looking at having an angry, orange, alcoholic named John Boehner third in line for the presidency. I hope President Obama on VP Biden have the good sense to not be going out for hamburgers anymore. The crazy teabaggers won 34 seats I believe. I am so discouraged by our electorate who continue to vote against their own best interests. The Republican Party has a lower favorability than the Dems by 8 points, but they put Republicans back in power because they're mad the Dems who couldn't fix an 8 year disaster in 21 months. If they'd been paying attention they'd know the gridlock was the Republican senate filibustering everything congress passed. I guess the guy we lost in the senate who will be missed by liberals is Russ Feingold of Wisconsin. The man is a straight shooter who was outspent 4 to 1 by billionaire Ron Johnson as Feingold does not take special interest money. He was painted as a rubber stamp for Obama and Pelosi and nothing could be further from the truth. He said no to many bills because they did not go far enough and he'll always have my personal thanks for having the good sense to vote against The Patriot Act all those years ago. Then there's reduce the deficit idea Reps ran on, but they're ready to immediately add $700B to it by extending the Bush tax cuts for not just the middle class, but those struggling Top 2%ers. I know it's been suggested that this country goes through cycles, but we've never had a black president and his election has sent many people totally over the edge. I have true fear in what Republicans can and are willing to do with an unjustly terrified electorate. Sidenote, at the end of Tuesday evening all MSNBC commentators were accounted for and doing well.

Then Friday came along and brought forth another stake through the heart news for liberals. MSNBC suspended Keith Olbermann for making contributions of $2400 each to three to Democratic candidates without obtaining prior approval from his superiors. Keith told his bosses he didn't know he was barred from making campaign contributions. Now he and Phil Griffin are playing the who's is bigger game. Griffin wants him to apologize on-air for his mea culpa and he's resisting. My guess is part of Keith's hesitance is that Joe Scarborough donated $5000 to a Republican congressional candidate in April as well as taking place in a fund raiser for that candidate. Can't really blame the guy, seems like a double standard. Even Bill Kristol thinks this suspension is absurd. Rachel Maddow seemed to be in an uncomfortable position Friday as he is her mentor and friend.  She stated that it is NBC/MSNBC policy to get permission for donations first, but the point has been made, put Keith back on the air. She's getting slammed this weekend from Keith supporters for a milquetoast response, but she's really in a tight spot. I'm sure she would've liked to stand in solidarity and not do her show. I would've been proud of her for that as well, but folks need to understand she's still a "kid" in this arena. She doesn't have millions socked away where walking away is an actual option. This is her dream job. I get it when conservatives lack the empathy to put themselves in someone else's shoes, but it's one of the things I believed set us apart. When the dust settles, maybe Keith and Phil can go on the air together, issue a joint statement and donate a "fine" to a charity like the Free Health Clinics. I can't believe MSNBC really wants to lose it's biggest star unless this is a nod to Comcast in what the future holds after their acquisition, which I'm not at all happy about. Hopefully we'll see him reappear sooner than later. At around 3:30 today he tweeted, Greetings From Exile! A quick, overwhelmed, stunned THANK YOU for support that feels like a global hug & obviously left me tweetless XO

Also worth reading: MSNBC's Disgrace by Senator Bernie Sanders

And to wrap up my week of political downs, Friday night Bill Maher at least stood in agreement with my Restore Sanity Rally opinion. Here is the New Rule:

Yes We Did! Yes We Did!

With all the vitriol we've witnessed since President Obama's inauguration and more recently over the health care reform debate, it's clear we're a country divided in every single way. With all the attrocities the previous administration pulled off, nothing close to what we're witnessing now ever took place. Sure, there were, and still are anti-war protesters, but the violence and death threats directed at Democratic Congresspeople and Senators for trying to do something to actually help Americans by and large is something this country hasn't seen in a very long time. The day of the HCR vote we watched Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) spit on by a Teabagger. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), a hero of the civil rights movement was called a 'ni--er.' And Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) was called a "faggot," as protestors shouted at him with deliberately lispy screams. Yeah, those Tea Party activists are real Americans...in the KKK world. I doubt I'm the only one who gets the feeling that part of their frustration is that amongst their, socialist, marxist, nazi, communist, fascist, Kenyan signs, the one they really want to hold up and scream out towards Obama starts with a "n" and rhymes with bigger...but that would just be wrong. The Republican party has embraced this radical fringe and I hope against hope that they will pay the price on election day. Democrats even seem to enjoy the sense of winning. I hope they hold on to that feeling.

On a much lighter and humorous note, I'd like to share the following video with you. Over 20 million people have watched the Youtube version of that Will.I.Am tribute to Barack Obama. “Yes We Can” gets a remix featuring House Minority Leader John Boehner and “Hell no, you can‘t”. Very funny.

Brown, Boehner and Bipartisanship...oye vey

I seriously have to ask, do we ever learn? Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.

Today, Scott Brown (R-MA) broke rank with fellow Republicans and supported a Democratic jobs bill in an important procedural vote. Brown says the bill is not perfect but he will support it. I hope people don't read too much into this vote. This is a soft toss that the Republicans will look foolish fighting. Since Brown's election was largely a protest vote, he can't walk lock step with the party of no. Expect him to act like a moderate on these types of votes. Wait until Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy expire, or ending DADT comes close to fruition, or closing Gitmo becomes reality. Don't get suckered. This boy supports Bush policies and only supports enough moderate positions to get him elected in Massachusetts.

House Minority Leader John Boehner (the orange Republican ventriloquist from OH) said the President has crippled the credibility of this week's summit by proposing the same massive government takeover of health care based on a partisan bill the American people have already rejected. Yeah, ok "Boner", Republicans have garnered so much credibility on this topic. Obama made his own 11 page health care proposal public on Monday morning, giving participants three days to examine them before the meeting. Obama has asked that the summit be televised. It's rumored that he will add one or two Republican-backed measures to the legislation as a show of bipartisanship. These steps satisfy previous GOP demands...which means they'll have new one's. This bipartisan outreach is really getting old, it's not going to happen! Saying no to everything is working for them. It is why Democrats are getting killed in the polls. ENOUGH ALREADY! Get something good done so the public can see that Democrats can govern.  Let's see, what is the Republicans idea of HCR? Tort reform, tort reform! Sorry, I'm not buying into something that adds less than one half of one percent to the cost of health care coverage, but will limit people's ability to sue incompetent doctor's as beneficial across the board. I agree that someone shouldn't be awarded $10K for a scar on their finger, but someone who has the wrong kidney removed (happened in CA last fall) should not be limited to damages. The good news? In this case the doctor apologized for the error after surgery. I guess Republicans think that's enough. Hey, shit happens! The other thing they want is to allow private health insurance companies to sell across state lines. My first reaction to that is, "Yeah, that'll work. I'm sure they won't all be in cahoots to keep premiums high!" However, after doing a little research I found that states have regulated health insurance since the 1945 passage of the McCarran Ferguson Act, which forbids interstate sale of insurance. What Republicans are suggesting would require a federal law that replaces state regulation of insurance with federal regulation. This is an odd policy for Republicans to pursue since they generally claim to reject federal regulation in favor of state independence. They're a confusing little bunch of whiners.