Out of Touch: the leaders seem flummoxed by America

Punching Back Twice As Hard Against Charges of Dangerous Conservative Rhetoric
What do the following quotes have in common? “If you get hit, we will punch back twice as hard.” “If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun.” “I don’t want to quell anger. I think people are right to be angry. I’m angry.” “I want you to argue with them and get in their faces.” “I’m itching for a fight.” “Fight for it!” “We’re gonna punish our enemies.” “Our job is, keep our boot on [t

Remainders: Reprieve
In this artist rendering, Jared Lee Loughner makes his first court appearance at the Sandra Day O'Connor United States Courthouse in Phoenix, Ariz., Monday, Jan. 10, 2011. Loughner appeared in Federal Court on charges he tried to assassinate Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in a shooting rampage that left six people dead. (AP Photo/Bill Robles) Obama gets a reprieve, and a success, on Iran. Former American official begs to differ on "brave" Lebanese newspaper. Controversial Israeli developer ...

Obama New Years Resolution Let Loose the Dogs of Campaign
The confetti has been swept up, new midterm “ins” have been sworn in, and the first week of 2011 shows the promise of yet another long, two year Presidential Campaign coming our way. While it can be said this particular POTUS has never left the Campaign Trail in his first two years, the staff changes already being implemented shows the not-so-novel slogan of “change” doesn’t apply to his favorite “dogs of campaign”. Spokesmouthpiece, Robert Gibbs, has s...

It's time to cool the rhetoric
Saturday's shootings in Tucson, in which six people were killed, including U.S. District Court Judge John Roll and nine-year-old Christina Green, and 14 wounded, including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), tells us that we desperately need to cool down an overheated atmosphere of violent and hateful political Rhetoric. Contentious political issues bring out strong feelings on all sides, but civilized people in a Democracy can disagree about things without resorting to threats of violence or d...

GOP senator urges media not to talk about Palin's violent rhetoric
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) urged CNN's Candy Crowley Sunday not to mention Fox News' Sarah Palin in connection with the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ). In a Sunday interview, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) noted that public figures have used violent Rhetoric against Giffords, something Palin has done. "Those of us in public life and the Journalists who cover this should be thoughtful in response to this and try to bring down the rhetoric, which I'm afraid has become pervasive in the dis...

House Dem To Introduce Bill Banning Speech About Congressmen That Could Be Perceived As Threatening
The Hill: Rep. Robert Brady (D-Pa.) reportedly plans to introduce Legislation that would make it a federal crime to use language or symbols that could be perceived as threatening or inciting violence against a federal official or member of Congress. Brady told CNN that he wants federal lawmakers and officials to have the same protections against threat currently provided to the president. His call comes one day after Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) was shot, along with 19 other people, at a ...

The Left Never Wastes a Tragedy
Ben Johnson, FloydReports.com The Left never stands so tall as when it stands upon dead bodies. Whether it is Bill Clinton blaming the Oklahoma City bombing on Rush Limbaugh, Democratic mayors suing gun manufacturers after school shootings in Arkansas and Colorado, Democrats turning Senator Paul Wellstone’s memorial into a campaign rally, or Cindy Sheehan vastly overstaying her 15 minutes of fame, the Left never lets a tragedy pass without blaming it on its political enemies and pushing ...

'Humor writer' names Olbermann a 'target' after Giffords shooting
© unknown A self-described humorist named a liberal cable news host a "target" on her blog the day after he denounced incendiary political Rhetoric in response to an Arizona shooting that claimed the lives of six people, including a Federal Judge, a congressperson's aide, and a child. Andrea Rouda's post entitled "Speaking of Target Practice" listed several historical figures who were murdered "by a crazy person" before naming MSNBC's Keith Olbermann, whom she referred to as "The Devil."...

So what is America going to do about this tragedy (other than shout)?
I don't have too much to add to the Giffords debate, but in case these points haven't been made (probably unlikely) or haven't been made prominently enough, let me raise three issues about the Arizona massacre: Implicit versus explicit eliminationist Rhetoric. There has been much justifiable focus on various forms of explicit, or even slightly veiled but still Militant/aggressive rhetoric in the political discourse. I think more attention needs to go the implicit calls for violence, usually i...

Pima County Dem Chair: Time Will Prove Loughner To Be A Right-Winger
TUCSON, AZ -- Conservatives gloating about the biography of the suspected shooter of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) will eat their words in the end, according to the chair of the Pima County Democratic Party. "Here's what I think you're going to find," Jeff Rogers told me in an interview today. "I think you're going to find that he was [a conservative]." [TPM SLIDESHOW: Dem Rep. Gabrielle Giffords Shot In Arizona] I met with Rogers in his downtown Tucson office this afternoon to discuss the ...

Fox News Head Tells Hosts 'Shut Up, Tone It Down' After Giffords Shooting
Roger Ailes, the conservative who heads the Fox News Channel, has told his traditionally outspoken hosts to "shut up, tone it down, make your argument intellectually" in the wake of the massacre in Tuscon that is putting overheated right-wing Rhetoric under intense scrutiny. After the Arizona Massacre, Will Congress Ever Be the Same? "I told all of our guys, shut up, tone it down, make your argument intellectually," Ailes said in an interview with Russell Simmons, the global hip-hop impresario, ...

The Right Wing Doth Protest Too Much, Methinks
Andrew Sullivan has a compilation of some of the more prominent -- and vitriolic -- responses to the requests from just about everyone to take it down a notch.A survey of the bloggy scene suggests a rigid, uniform, passionate position that this Assassination has nothing whatsoever to do with violent Rhetoric and political polarization. It is as if some loony had just randomly shot some schoolkids or ran into a mall killing strangers. If you are looking for reflectiveness, you won't find it, in ...

Video: Media Bash Repealing ObamaCare As A Waste Of Time
With Republicans taking control of Congress, those in the media suddenly feel that proposing Legislation, such as repealing ObamaCare, is a waste of time. From CBS's Harry Smith referring to it as "a fool's errand" to MSNBC's Chuck Todd fretting over the GOP "relitigating Health Care," here is a video compilation of the slanted coverage this proposal has received. Submitted by celator on Sat, 01/08/2011 - 12:08pm. Destroy healthcare? All of it? They want to close ...

Stockman: The Reagan revolutionary
David Stockman is back Posted by Dan Primack January 10, 2011 5:00 am The Reagan revolutionary is turning heads by sounding off on today's GOP. The thing is - do we really want to listen to him? David Stockman has spent so much time on TV these past few months, from 60 Minutes to Colbert, that he could be mistaken for a Kardashian. The story line is always the same: Ronald Reagan's former Budget director believes that extending Bush-era Tax Cuts is irresponsible. He also has plenty of harsh ...

After attack, a leadership test for Obama, Boehner (AP)
WASHINGTON – On opposite sides of the political spectrum, President Barack Obama and new House Speaker John Boehner suddenly face the same challenge: rise above the anger, suspicion and hostility of their liberal and conservative bases to help a rattled nation deal with the deadly outburst of violence in Arizona. But what comes after the easy moment of silence? For now, both men are stepping past the question of what role, if any, the vitriol of the past election campaign played in Satur...

Cedillo's challenge of state officials' pay cut suffers setback
Assemblyman Gil Cedillo 's challenge of millions cut from the pay and benefits of legislators and other state elected officials in late 2009 has been tentatively rejected by the state. The Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board is releasing a staff recommendation today that Cedillo's claim be denied at its Jan. 20 public meeting, spokeswoman Janice Mackey said. Cedillo, a Los Angeles Democrat, had argued in a claim filed in November that the 18 percent pay and benefit cuts by the Cali...

Jared Loughner Now, Timothy McVeigh Then
In 1995, the Internet was still trying to get its sea legs; it was nowhere near the force it has become today in getting information to the public. On April 19th of that year, 168 people were killed in Oklahoma City and a man named Timothy Mcveigh was largely responsible. Then president Bill Clinton resurrected his presidency by painting McVeigh as a Right Wing Extremist. Imagine if the Internet of today had been available then. Would Clinton have been able to pull off such a despicable smear ca...

From Falls Creek Camp To Congress
Earlier this year, when I reported on the race to succeed Republican Rep. (now Gov.-elect) Mary Falin as congressman from Oklahoma ’s 4th District, I mentioned just about every Republican in the seven-candidate GOP primary except one: James Lankford, who wound up winning the all-important nomination and is now congressman-elect. “So you were just like the rest of the political reporters and overlooked me? the 42-year-old Lankford said with a big smile when he dropped by HUMAN EVENT...

Some blame violent political discourse for shooting in Arizona
Related: Suspect in attack on congresswoman to appear in court McConnell speaks to Students about Tucson shootings Obama: US grieving, shocked over Ariz. rampage Military: alleged Giffords gunman failed Drug Test McConnell calls for review of congressional security (WHAS11) - Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords remains in critical condition after being shot over the weekend. And while police work on a motive, some blame violent political discourse for the shooting. That Rhetoric was the ...

Arizona Sheriff Dubnik Was Aware of Loughners Mental Illness, Did Nothing
From Reuters: The suspect in Saturday’s shooting rampage in which a U.S. congresswoman was critically wounded was unstable and had been known to make Death Threats in the past, the local sheriff said. The FBI is investigating whether the man is the same person who posted a rambling Internet manifesto accusing the government of mind control and demanding a new currency. Jared Lee Loughner, 22, of Tucson, was taken into Custody moments after the shooting at a political meeting held by Dem...

Gabrielle Giffords shooting: Jared Loughner may have been influenced by occult
FBI investigators delving into the warped mind of Tucson massacre suspect Jared Loughner are exploring whether he was influenced by the occult and a Right-wing Conspiracy theorist....

Deepening crisis traps America's have-nots
The US is drifting from a Financial Crisis to a deeper and more insidious social crisis. Self-congratulation by the US authorities that they have this time avoided a repeat of the 1930s is premature. © Telegraph UK A tale of two shoppers - Louis Vuitton has helped boost the luxury goods stock index by almost 50pc since October, yet Walmart has languished. There is a telling detail in the US retail chain store data for December. Stephen Lewis from Monument Securities points out that luxur...

Our (We) Working Class Pundits
Digby has a righteous rant about a discussion between Wolf Blitzer, Mary Matalin, and Paul Begala in which they revealed their utter Divorce from the reality lived by most Americans as they discuss whether the $172,000 Robert Gibbs made as Press Secretary was a sacrifice. Here’s a taste: According to these guys [Robert Gibbs'] job is right up there with curing Cancer for sheer importance to the future of mankind. Look, you can’t blame these two. They are both glugging from the same...

Shocker: Earl Pomeroys New Lobbying Bosses Were Supporting His Re-Election Campaigns
Back when it was announced that Rep. Earl Pomeroy’s new employers would be the lobbying firm of Alston & Bird I concluded that this was Pomeroy’s big-salary pay off for ignoring his constituents and voting for ObamaCare. But in a rare fit of journalistic competence, the Fargo Forum looked a little deeper into Pomeroy’s relationship with this company and its clients and found that a big chunk of the former Congressman’s campaign cash came from them: The lobbying and l...

Where is the decency in that?
“So as the usual talking heads begin their ‘have you no decency?’ routine aimed at Talk Radio and Republican politicians, perhaps we should turn the question around. Where is the decency in blood Libel?… “To be clear, if you’re using this event to criticize the ‘Rhetoric’ of Mrs. Palin or others with whom you disagree, then you’re either: (a) asserting a connec...