Click here to view this media Rep. Allen West (R-FL) refused to apologize Wednesday for what EMILY’s List called a “sexist tirade” against Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL). In an email Tuesday, West had called Wasserman Schultz “vile” and “not a Lady.” West, who stands by the remarks, offered the following defense to Fox News. “This is something, once again, the Democrat Party, they put my Social Security number and my wife’s employment identification number in a mail piece,” he said. “This has just been an ongoing thing. I have been called Uncle Tom, a sell-out Oreo. It’s not about Allen West. And so once again, it’s very interesting to me that we continually allow liberals to do whatever they want and attack conservatives, but all of the sudden when a conservative stands up and says enough then people all want to sit back, especially liberals, and play victim. She’s not a victim. She’s been attacking Allen West for quite some time.” To be clear, Wasserman Schultz did not call West “Uncle Tom” or “Oreo” during the floor speech that seems to have set off his fiery email, and there is no evidence of her using racist language in the past. UPDATE: West says an apology “is not happening.”
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Click here to view this media Rep. Allen West (R-FL) refused to apologize Wednesday for what EMILY’s List called a “sexist tirade” against Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL). In an email Tuesday, West had called Wasserman Schultz “vile” and “not a Lady.” West, who stands by the remarks, offered the following defense to Fox News. “This is something, once again, the Democrat Party, they put my Social Security number and my wife’s employment identification number in a mail piece,” he said. “This has just been an ongoing thing. I have been called Uncle Tom, a sell-out Oreo. It’s not about Allen West. And so once again, it’s very interesting to me that we continually allow liberals to do whatever they want and attack conservatives, but all of the sudden when a conservative stands up and says enough then people all want to sit back, especially liberals, and play victim. She’s not a victim. She’s been attacking Allen West for quite some time.” To be clear, Wasserman Schultz did not call West “Uncle Tom” or “Oreo” during the floor speech that seems to have set off his fiery email, and there is no evidence of her using racist language in the past. UPDATE: West says an apology “is not happening.”
Continue reading …Why Does The Corporate Media Ignore the GOP’s Un-American Pledge To Grover Norquist, An Enemy of the Constitution?
July 21, 2011 No Comment
Grover Norquist makes a fool of himself in this November 2008 discussion about raising taxes to prevent a recession. Dear Media Types and/or Journalists, I know a lot of you read our little blog, so I want to ask you a question: Why won’t you cover the story that an unelected Republican tax czar demands that Republicans sign an anti-tax pledge that supercedes their oath of office , enforces it through coercion, intimidation and threats, and has this country’s political system and the very economy in a state of crisis? Why do you accept the idea that this is somehow perfectly normal, even okay? Here’s how Ed at Gin and Tacos put it : Let’s say that through a combination of fund-raising prowess, ideological militancy, and personal charisma, Jesse Jackson Sr. is able to assume a position of considerable behind-the-scenes power in the Democratic Party. His sway over elected Democrats is such that he manages to get 95% of the Democratic Congressional delegation, House and Senate, to sign an oath of personal loyalty to his policy goals. Specifically, they pledge that under no circumstances will they ever support cuts in Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and other social welfare programs. Jackson believes that any such cuts will affect the poor and people of color disproportionately. Throughout the debate over the budget and debt ceiling, House and Senate Democrats refuse to even consider any proposal that touches any of those programs. It is a non-starter. Full stop. Because they swore an oath to Jesse Jackson that they wouldn’t. I’m sure you can see through this thin shoe-on-the-other-partisan-foot analogy to Grover Norquist’s “Taxpayer Protection Pledge” that currently holds sway over the GOP . I do think it’s interesting to draw out the hypothetical scenario, though, to underscore a point: Can you even imagine the sheer violence of the pant-s****g that the GOP, Teatards, and Beltway media would be engaged in if the shoe really was on the other foot? If every Democrat had signed a personal oath to an interest group and private citizen that took precedence over their oath to the American people and Constitution? You know, I think Ed makes a really good point. I don’t think you guys can credibly defend yourself on that one. Here’s the oath of office each congress member and senator takes: “I, Joe Blow, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic ; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same ; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.” Okay, let’s start with this. They take an oath to “support and defend the constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” This is from the 14th Amendment: The validity of the public debt of the United States , authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned . So thanks to unelected GOP czar Grover Norquist and the oath he insists Republicans sign (235 congressmen and 41 senators from this Congress) under threat of a high-powered primary challenge, the elected members of Congress and the Senate have declared that their pledge to him takes precedence over their obligation to the Constitution and their responsibility to discharge their duties. Don’t you think that’s a little, well, unAmerican? Not to mention against the very spirit of our constitution? I’ve seen more profiles of Grover lately, but something important is missing from most of them. You’re supposed to be journalists . You’re supposed to sound alarms, afflict the comfortable. Why aren’t you doing your jobs? Here’s a puppeteer who pulls the strings and intimidates elected offices. He’s an unelected, unaccountable sleazebag who’s taking money from the right wing for his anti-Constitution, unAmerican agenda. And he’s destroying our government, just as he threatened to do from the beginning. enlarge Instead of describing what he does, why aren’t you questioning the very premise , like Garry Wills did in the New York Review of Books? …Edmund Burke, standing for election to Parliament in 1774, addressed the electors of his district, Bristol. The idea of instructions had been raised in the campaign, leading Burke to renounce their “coercive authority”: Certainly, gentlemen, it ought to be the happiness and glory of a representative to live in the strictest union, the closest correspondence, and the most unreserved communication with his constituents. Their wishes ought to have great weight with him; their opinion, high respect; their business, unremitted attention. It is his duty to sacrifice his repose, his pleasure, his satisfactions, to theirs; and above all, ever, and in all cases, to prefer their interest to his own. But his unbiased opinion, his mature judgment, his enlightened conscience, he ought not to sacrifice to you, to any man, or to any set of men living . These he does not derive from your pleasure; no, nor from the law and the constitution. They are a trust from Providence, for the abuse of which he is deeply answerable. Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment; and he betrays, instead of serving you, if he sacrifices it to your opinion. Burke makes clear what the real meaning of the Norquist pledge is for those who subscribe to it. They are signing over their souls. This first oath they take, as candidates, makes the next one they take, as office holders—the oath to preserve and protect the Constitution—an empty gesture. That oath, sworn to God, may call for changes of position in a crisis or where better knowledge has become available. They cannot preserve and protect the country if their hands are tied and their minds closed. Their participation in congressional discussion, if that discussion affects taxes in any way, becomes a charade. This is the situation Burke denounced: What sort of reason is that, in which the determination precedes the discussion; in which one set of men deliberate, and another decide; and where those who form the conclusion are perhaps three hundred miles distant from those who hear the arguments… Authoritative instructions; mandates issued, which the member is bound blindly and implicitly to obey, to vote and to argue for, though contrary to the clearest conviction of his judgment and conscience – these are things utterly unknown to the laws of this land . That means that most Republicans in Congress have signed a Mephistophelian pact. They have left behind their consciences in the pocket of Grover Norquist. Bill Clinton said this recently : “He was quoted in the paper the other day saying he gave Republican senators permission … on getting rid of the ethanol subsidies. I thought, ‘My God, what has this country come to when one person has to give you permission to do what’s best for the country.’ It was chilling.” Grover, of course, said it was taken out of context. But you all know how he works. If some other dreadful plague was threatening this country, the media would be sounding the alarm. But on this issue? You’re strangely silent. There are many things in this world that, while legal, remain strongly immoral. Instead of covering Anthony Weiner’s online habits, why weren’t you covering this? Our readers tell us this is why they don’t trust the media. Look in the mirror. This man is destroying our democracy, and if you’re not pointing that out every day, you’re complicit.
Continue reading …Bozell: With Latest Lies About Reagan Regarding Debt Ceiling Debate, MSNBC Proves Itself DNC-TV
July 21, 2011 No CommentMSNBC is looking more and more like Pinocchio every day; its nose grows longer with every lie and the DNC obviously is pulling its strings. Ronald Reagan has absolutely nothing in common with Obama , especially not on taxes and the debt ceiling. It’s outrageous for this disgraced network to exploit the late President’s good name and his conservative economic brilliance. MSNBC is nothing more than DNC-TV. But are we really surprised? This is the same network whose dozens of viewers will soon start to salivate over the loony liberal Rev. Al Sharpton in the anchor chair. Editor's Note: For the full Bozell press release, click here .
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Marine Le Pen says on Belgian national day that Paris should consider turning francophone half of politically riven Belgium into French region When are foreigners not foreign, but Gallic compatriots in all but name? When they are French-speaking neighbours with a penchant for moules and frites, it seems. France’s far-right Front National party is prepared to soften its notoriously hard line against immigrants in the case of its francophone Belgian cousins. Not that the party leader, Marine Le Pen, is suggesting all French-speaking Walloons come to France en masse; simply that Paris might consider taking on half of Belgium. In a provocative statement issued on Belgium’s national day, Le Pen said if Belgium could not remain united, Paris should “extend a hand” to the francophones and suggest they be allowed to decide whether to become a region of France. The idea would be laughable if the situation in Belgium were not so ridiculous. The Dutch-speaking north, where the Flamands live, and the French-speaking south, home to the Walloons, have been unable to agree on how the country should be run since an election last year. Brussels, a largely French-speaking enclave in the Flemish area, is particularly contested. As a result of the deadlock, the Belgians have now been without a government for more than 400 days. “The political situation that Belgium is going through is getting worse, appears to have no solution and has left both Walloons and Flamands in a terrible uncertainty,” Le Pen wrote in a statement. “Nobody is rejoicing at this situation and everyone in France shares the Belgians’ concerns. At this time of the Belgian national day, it is nevertheless the responsibility of France and the French to extend a hand to the Walloons. “If Belgium is going to split, if Flanders pronounces its independence, which seems more and more credible a possibility, the French republic would do well to welcome Wallonia to its heart.” Le PenShe said there were “historic and fraternal links that unite our two people”, and these links were “too strong for France to abandon the Walloons”. She said any such plan should be agreed by a referendum in both countries. In his eve-of-holiday address, King Albert II urged Belgians to find a political solution to their differences and to rapidly form a government. “Our current situation is causing concern among our partners and may even damage our position at the heart of Europe, and even call into question the European construction itself, already undermined by eurosceptics and populists,” the 77-year-old monarch said. Belgians accused Le Pen of fuelling nationalism. “It’s a Pandora’s Box and will simply fuel the cause of autonomists … those from Flanders, Savoy, Brittany, Corsica, the Basque region will be jumping for joy,” wrote one commentator on the Belgian newspaper Le Soir’s website. Another wrote: “There will never be a French Wallonia … there has never been an example in history of two peoples being united on the basis of their language, except Germany and that was one nation to start with. The Walloons are too proud to fall for such a low idea.” However, another wrote: “For all those who predict that an attachment with France will never happen, I ask you not to react in an emotional way. Open the debate so at last we can discuss this.” After 400 days without a government, French-speaking Belgians might just be prepared to consider Le Pen’s offer. On the other hand, it might persuade them to come to an agreement with their Flemish compatriots. Marine Le Pen France Belgium The far right Europe Kim Willsher guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz refutes Allen West’s lie that he apologized to her
July 21, 2011 No CommentDNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz told Wolf Blitzer on CNN that Rep. Allen West had not apologized for his outrageous behavior, which he sealed in a letter. BLITZER: Now there’s reports out there as of this moment that he called you and apologized. SCHULTZ: That is absolutely untrue. I have not received an apology. I haven’t received a phone call. I know he has my e-mail, I haven’t got an apology on my e-mail nor on my fax machine in my district office or my congressional office in the Capitol or at the Democratic National Committee. BLITZER: He’s quoted in this Roll Call as having told a “Huffington Post” reporter, ‘I just apologized.’ SCHULTZ: That’s simply not true. A Huff Post reporter asked West about his sexist and sophomoric attack against Rep. Schultz, and he claimed that he did apologize . Following Rep. Allen West’s (R-FL) tirade yesterday against Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), the Tea Party Republican told the Huffington Post that he had “ just apologized ” to his fellow Floridian this afternoon. Wasserman Schultz told CNN this afternoon, however, that reports of West apologizing to her were “absolutely untrue.” Allen West never did formally apologize to her. Let’s face it, he would never have behaved like this to another man in Congress. Roll Call breaks it down: The Allen West Apology Mystery Did he or didn’t he? Shortly after Roll Call reported Wednesday afternoon that Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) said that he had apologized to Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) for calling her “vile, unprofessional and despicable” in an email, the phones started ringing off the hook. Wasserman Schultz aides said there had been no apology, and West’s office adamantly denied the report and demanded a retraction. So, what exactly happened? West said, “I just apologized,” when asked by a Huffington Post reporter about the situation in the Speaker’s Lobby before votes Wednesday afternoon, according to a tape of the conversation. The Huffington Post reporter repeated the question later, asking about it in the context of a group of female lawmakers preparing to hold a news conference to condemn him. The Members planned to call on the leadership of both parties to rebuke West. In response to the question, West reiterated that he had apologized before walking into the House chamber. But West spokeswoman Angela Sachitano doubled down, saying it was Wasserman Schultz who should do the apologizing. Sachitano strenuously denied that West had apologized to Wasserman Schultz and even denied what he’d told Huffington Post… read on His people even lie about what West said to the Huffington Post. CNN Transcript via The Situation Room below the fold: Wow. Have you ever been attacked publicly like that? SCHULTZ: No, and I was surprised that he sent that to my personal e-mail, an e-mail that he didn’t previously have. But it’s — you know, it doesn’t faze me. I mean, it isn’t surprising he would react to the probably untold pressure he’s getting from his constituents. I mean, he and I both represent, as I pointed out in debate on the House floor, represent thousands of senior citizens who under this cut, cap and balance — really, duck dodge and dismantle — plan that the Republicans have proposed would face huge increases in their Medicare costs. It would end Medicare as we know it. It’s the Ryan plan on steroids. And he clearly is feeling the pressure. If he can’t handle that pressure, can’t handle being called out in debate on the House floor, then he probably should change his position. And, you know, he also suggested that I focus on my own congressional district. I’ll point out that I was. He’s a constituent of mine, and so I was dutifully doing my job and representing my constituents and taking to task someone who I think is really taking the wrong position when it comes to the people we represent in south Florida who badly need that safety net and make sure that we’re not going to dramatically increase their costs, which that cut, cap and balance plan does. BLITZER: So you’re saying he lives in your district, he doesn’t live in his own district? SCHULTZ: Yes, Congressman West is a constituent of the 20th congressional district, but represents the 22cd. BLITZER: Now there’s reports out there as of this moment that he called you and apologized. SCHULTZ: That is absolutely untrue. I have not received an apology. I haven’t received a phone call. I know he has my e-mail, I haven’t got an apology on my e-mail nor on my fax machine in my district office or my congressional office in the Capitol or at the Democratic National Committee. BLITZER: He’s quoted in this roll call as having told a “Huffington Post” reporter, I just apologized. SCHULTZ: That’s simply not true. BLITZER: As of this moment, he has not called you, he has not communicated — he has not apologized? SCHULTZ: No, he has not. BLITZER: If he does call you and say I’m sorry, what will you say? SCHULTZ: Well, I would appreciate his apology, and I would hope that he would reconsider his ill-advised position on increasing benefits — increasing costs for Medicare beneficiaries. But I think Congressman West really needs to understand that when we’re debating on the House floor, that’s what we do. We engage in a back and forth. And if he can’t handle that, particularly on an issue as important to our constituents as Medicare, then he probably needs to reconsider his really ill-advised position on Medicare.
Continue reading …A PA County Leases Out Its Watershed To A Fracking Operation Where They Don’t Even Allow Fishing
July 21, 2011 No CommentIn Pennsylvania, cash-strapped Westmoreland County is leasing out their watershed – to a fracking operation: Fracking began at Beaver Run in 2008 — one year, incidentally, after the municipal authority upheld a fishing ban in the reservoir due to public health concerns. CNX says it has plans for up to 30 shale gas wells at the reservoir from five different drilling sites. Both CNX and the water authority have groundwater monitoring wells around the reservoir. As an extra precaution, CNX is drilling five well casings instead of the state-mandated two. So far, the company has a good record at the site, without any violations from state regulators. Still, many residents like Walter wonder how drilling was permitted in a reservoir watershed where virtually all other activities are banned. Others are angry they weren’t informed about the gas development and feel excluded from a public decision. When Joe Evans, a medical engineer and member of Citizens for the Preservation of Rural Murrysville, saw aerial maps of the reservoir in 2009, he was stunned. “I was shocked that a process that I was finding to be dangerous was allowed to take place on a reservoir property, where even hiking and fishing from the banks is prohibited for fear of pollution,” he said. Brien Palmer, a business technology consultant and fellow member of the citizens group, said he’s not opposed to gas drilling but questions the judgment of the water utility. “The fact that they would drill near a drinking water source first, and not as a last resort, is astonishing,” he said. “I’m just not sure what I can say to someone who can’t see the absurdity of fracking in a drinking well basin.” Daniel Jonczak, an electrical engineer who lives two miles from the Beaver Run Reservoir, says that he, too, is a far cry from an anti-drilling activist. He grew up in the 1970s, when Westmoreland County’s streams flowed orange from acid mine drainage. So extreme was the damage, Jonczak laments, that local creeks were given names like coal tar run. Gas was always seen as less polluting. Yet the decision to lease Beaver Run Reservoir has him extremely worried. “Are we really sure what’s going on with MAWC [Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County] and the water supplied to half of Westmoreland County?” asked Jonczak. “The chance of a spill is just too huge. I don’t think they were aware of the risks.”
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Finnish phone-maker is overtaken by Samsung and Apple in smartphone sector as sales slide continues The Finnish phone-maker Nokia crashed to a loss for the second quarter as its smartphone and mobile business collapsed, leaving it in third place in the sector behind Samsung and Apple, and with no clear sign of any improvement in the short term. Overall the company made a loss of €368m despite receiving a one-off payment of €430m from Apple to settle a long-running patent dispute. Revenues fell overall by 7% to €9.3bn. The company’s mobile revenue, normally the stalwart of its business, fell by 20% year on year to €5.47bn and made a loss of €247m, as the number of phones sold dropped by the same amount, to 88m – both figures not seen since 2006. Its existing Symbian smartphone business, which it has said that it will phase out in favour of phones using Microsoft Windows Phone from later this year, fell by 30% year on year to just 16.7m. The Navteq mapping and Nokia Siemens Network (NSN) businesses offered no comfort either, both racking up operating losses of €58m and €111m respectively, although sales at NSN were up by 20%. Stephen Elop, the former Microsoft executive who took over as chief executive last September, said in a statement: “The challenges we are facing during our strategic transformation manifested in a greater than expected way in Q2 2011. However, even within the quarter, I believe our actions to mitigate the impact of these challenges have started to have a positive impact on the underlying health of our business. Most importantly, we are making better-than-expected progress toward our strategic goals.” But Francisco Jeronimo, research manager for European mobile devices at the analysts IDC, warned that Nokia risks missing out on a window of opportunity as more and more people switch over to smartphones from older “featurephones”: “I think it will take at least two or three quarters after the launch of Nokia Windows Phone devices before they get positive results. That takes you to March of next year. But consumers are moving to smartphones, and it will be very hard for Nokia to get them if they have just signed up to two-year contracts using an Android, iPhone or other smartphone.” Already more than 50% of mobile phone shipments in the US and Europe are smartphones, and 30% of mobile users in the US and 38% in the UK are already using them. Elop’s forecast for the next quarter remained around breakeven – but Elop admitted there was “limited visibility” on it. He said he was “optimistic” about the Windows Phone potential in the long term. “Step by step, beginning this year, we plan to have a sequence of concentrated product launches in specific countries, systematically increasing the number of countries and launch partners.” Nokia’s shares moved up in early trading by about 4%, to trade at about €5.80, because analysts had expected worse – but the shares have almost halved in value since February, when Elop announced the tieup with Microsoft – which coincidentally will announce its fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday evening. “It is a glimmer of hope in an overall very gloomy picture,” said Angus Campbell, head of sales at Capital Spreads. “The picture for Nokia is difficult – it is competing in an incredible competitive environment and their smartphones are not as popular, against Apple’s iphone and Google’s Android.” Nokia needs to take quick action to develop new products or it will continue to lose ground to its rivals, said Neil Mawston of London-based Strategy Analytics. “Pretty much everything is heading in the wrong direction,” Mawston said. “Nokia has to move with lightning speed to upgrade their portfolio.” The results contrast spectacularly with Apple’s from Tuesday, when it said that it had sold more than 20.3m iPhones during the quarter even though there was no new model to spur sales; the iPhone has not been updated since June 2010. Apple’s sales from the iPhone alone, totalling $13.3bn (€9.4bn), mean that Apple’s mobile phone business generated almost twice the revenue of Nokia’s in the same period. Samsung will release quarterly earnings next week that are expected to show that it took the lead in the smartphone market, and may have beaten Nokia to the title. Smartphones running Google’s free Android operating system now make up the largest share of the top-end devices, with about 36% of the market. Apple’s latest sales figures suggest that it has grabbed about 20% of the global smartphone market, while Android is expected to have grown to around 40% of the business. Nokia dominated the mobile phone business for almost two decades, and for years had the majority section of the valuable smartphone market. But the introduction of the iPhone in 2007, followed by the arrival of Google’s Android operating system in 2008, has eroded its share and profits substantially. Elop could point to some success in having driven Apple to a settlement over a patent dispute settled during the quarter, leading to the one-off payment without which the results would have been even worse. Apple will continue to pay a royalty on some patents belonging to Nokia. Nokia Smartphones Mobile phones Telecoms Telecommunications industry Charles Arthur guardian.co.uk
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General Abdul Nabih Zayid arrested during rebel advance and questioned over Misrata civilian killings, says opposition Libyan rebels in Misrata say they have captured the chief of operations of government forces in Zlitan on the first day of their offensive against the town. General Abdul Nabih Zayid was caught late on Wednesday after advancing fighters overran his command post at Souk Talat, a small village on the outskirts of Zlitan, opposition commanders said. “We have him in custody. He is being well looked after,” said Mohamed Frefr, in charge of detainees for the rebels. “After three days talking with him we will hand him to the military prison.” Rebels in the besieged coastal city said the general was being interviewed by intelligence officers and well looked after, with supplies of insulin procured because he has diabetes. A member of the Misrata Military Council, Hassan Duwa, said the general was captured as rebel units advanced towards Zlitan late on Wednesday. “He was in his house, 11 guys surrounded the house.” His capture is regarded as a major feather in the cap for rebel forces. The general gained notoriety among rebels when he helped co-ordinate the deployment of tanks into the streets of Misrata in March, triggering two months of street fighting that saw much of the city wrecked and hundreds killed. Misrata’s war crimes investigators say the general, who was operations officer at the city garrison before the war, is a “person of interest” for his role in what they say were widespread and systematic attacks against civilians. Khalid Alwafi, a lawyer for Misrata’s Human Rights Activists Association, made up of volunteer Libyan lawyers, which is assembling evidence it hopes can later be used by the international criminal court, said: “For sure we need to interview him. There are lots of questions that need answers from him.” Rebel units say they are on the outskirts of Zlitan and deploying around the town. The offensive has been launched simultaneously with a push by forces on the eastern front to capture the key oil town of Brega. Both offensives have been augmented by heavy Nato air strikes over the past few days, with alliance aircraft flying over Misrata on Wednesday night. Loud explosions could be heard from behind the frontline. In a sign that government forces may be feeling the strain, Libya’s state television channel on Thursday morning broadcast an appeal for volunteers to join the army. An announcer told viewers there were vacancies in all units, including special forces, and that soldiers would be well paid. Several rebel commanders in Misrata have told the Guardian in recent days that pro-Gaddafi forces are running short of manpower. The twin attacks are as much political as military, with the rebel National Transitional Council, based in Benghazi, keen to demonstrate that it can break a six-week deadlock and gain the initiative. Libya Arab and Middle East unrest Middle East Africa Chris Stephen guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Chris Christie’s poll numbers drop gain in NJ, but billionaires still begging for him to run in 2012
July 21, 2011 No CommentSo far Roger Ailes, Chris Wallace, and the Koch Brothers — along with almost every conservative TV pundit on the planet — have all been clamoring for New Jersey’s Governor Chris Christie to run for president, but to no avail. The latest group from the billionaire elites to beg for his services include some prominent donors and Hedge Fund managers: Fifty of the most prized donors in national politics, including several hedge-fund billionaires who are among the richest people in the world, schlepped to a Manhattan office or hovered around speakerphones Tuesday afternoon as their host, venture capitalist Ken Langone (pronounced LAN-goan), a co-founder of The Home Depot, implored New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to reconsider and seek the GOP presidential nomination . The governor was firm that it’s not in the cards this time, but left his spurned suitors with the impression he might well go in 2016. He impressed the audience with his emphasis on family and commitment, and flashes of disarming humor. Langone backed Rudy Giuliani in 2008, and his guests came from both parties, although most were moderate Republicans. Most are uncommitted in the presidential race. Participants who rank on the Forbes list of richest Americans included Bernie Marcus, Paul Tudor Jones (hedge funds; $3.3 billion), Stan Druckenmiller (hedge funds; $2.5 billion) and Bernie Marcus (Home Depot; $1.9 billion). Several of them said: I’m Republican but I voted for President Obama, because I couldn’t live with Sarah Palin. Many said they were severely disappointed in the president. The biggest complaint was what several called “class warfare.” They said they didn’t understand what they had done to deserve that: If you want to have a conversation about taxation, have a conversation. But a president shouldn’t attack his constituents – he’s not the president of some people, he’s president of all the people . Someone mentioned Huey Long populism. These whiny, vain men of wealth have only seen rocketing profits and have been insulated from prosecution or the financial collapse that has plagued middle America with high unemployment, but being called a few names is too much for them to handle. What wankers. Digby writes: The only thing Obama did to these Masters of the Universe was use the word “fat cat” a couple of times and mouth platitudes like “people like me should pay their fair share” as if it will really hurt any of these hedge fund hogs to give up the tiniest percentage of their ill gotten gains. Other than that, he’s been downright subservient. Certainly nothing in the deficit reduction talks can be seen as particularly threatening. No, they are the very definition of what Atrios dubbed the WATBs. (You can look it up.) This is purely because they feel they haven’t gotten the public respect and deference they deserve. Even though they screwed everything up royally (pun intended) and the ungrateful little people had to bail them out. As Michele Bachman would say — that’s some major chootspaw. These people of wealth sure love the conservative bully from New Jersey, but a new poll released by the PPP shows his support among New Jersey voters keeps plummeting. “New Jerseyans are smart. So, it’s no surprise that Governor Christie’s poll numbers are dropping faster than Rupert Murdoch avoiding a cream pie at a Parliament hearing,” said Joshua Henne, spokesman for One New Jersey, a new progressive watchdog group. According to data released today by “Public Policy Polling”, a mere 43% of voters approve of the job Christie is doing, while a whopping 53% disapprove. This ten-point differential represents a full thirteen-point dip from when PPP last polled earlier this year. “While Governor Christie might be popular in Iowa or among GOP fundraising circles in the D.C. beltway, those families who have to live with the ramifications of his policies in New Jersey know better,” said Joshua Henne, spokesman for One New Jersey, a new progressive watchdog group. “With Chris Christie in the Statehouse, New Jerseyans are paying more and getting less. After nearly two years of Christie’s bluster, middle-class and working families are far worse-off than when he took office – with less jobs and higher property taxes.” — For fun, PPP decided to put Bruce Springsteen in a head-to-head poll with Christie. Right out the gate, he would tie Christie 42-42. Bruce would start in this position because – unlike Christie – Springsteen knows “nobody wins unless everybody wins If only The Boss would run. The MillBills Club are acting like love sick puppies over the nasty Christie, but the people that he serves have turned on him because they actually are feeling the results of what his policies bring. of course his ideas will never hurt the wealthy like they do the 98%ers.
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