GOP Infighting Makes for 'A Very 2016 Holiday' (VIDEO)

The Democrats like it when the light shines on the internal strife within the Republican Party. That is the reason that they created the following video highlighting infighting among Republican presidential hopeful. The video features GOP Sens. Rand Paul (KY) and Marco Rubio (FL), Rep. Paul Ryan (WI), Govs. Scott Walker (WI) and Chris Christie (NJ) and former Gov. Jeb Bush (FL) all trading barbs with each other during interviews and public appearances.



Who do you think will by the 2016 Republican presidential candidate? I know it will be hard to follow the past two GOP standard-bearers (John McCain and Mitt Romney) ... but, someone has to do it!

Republican Party Isn't Serious About Outreach to Women or Minorities

Following the 2012 election cycle, Republicans released an autopsy report chronicling their numerous failings. They promised to change their ways and reach out to groups who have been alienated by the GOP's extreme policies and rhetoric. Here's a look at what they've done instead.



It captures in dramatic fashion how Republicans have made no effort to change their ways to reach out to and be more tolerant towards women, African Americans, Latinos, young people and the LGBT community despite an autopsy report released 100 days ago today which said it must do so to be a viable national party. If anything, Republicans have gone the other way – using more extreme rhetoric and taking more extreme positions than ever. Truth is, the Grand Old Party is just the Same Old Party it has been.

Perhaps it's time for GOP chair Reince Priebus to give a call to Aaron Laramore. He's got some tips on how the Republican Party can better reach out to Black folks.

GOP Carpetbagger Artur Davis Considers Bid for Virginia State Senate

Artur Davis is truly a lost soul. In 2008 he was a Democratic congressman from Alabama who fully supported the presidential candidacy of Barack Obama. Davis tried to parlay his political publicity at the time into a campaign to become the governor of Alabama. He was beaten in the Democratic primary. That pissed him off ... so he decided to switch parties and move to Virginia. As a Virginia republican he became one of the few African Americans to support the presidential campaign of Mitt Romney.

It seems that Davis is now lost and confused. He must not have the will to hold down a job in the private sector. Instead he is exploring another run for political office. This time he wants to be a Republican in either the Virginia state legislature or a republican candidate for congress from some community in Virginia. He currently lives in a heavily-Democratic district ... so he is willing to move his family to another district that is gerrymandered in favor of Republicans.

Isn't that the description of a Civil War carpetbagger? Artur Davis has not shown himself to be a good politician. He is simply a publicity-whore and I can't believe that the voters of Virginia would reward his carpetbagging ways. What is your take on the Artur Davis story?

Speech by Condoleezza Rice at Republican National Convention (Text / Video)

Here is the full text of former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's remarks at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday evening:

"Good evening. Distinguished delegates, fellow Republicans, fellow Americans.

We gather here at a time of significance and challenge. This young century has been a difficult one. I will never forget the bright September day, standing at my desk in the White House, when my young assistant said that a plane had hit the World Trade Center – and then a second one – and a third, the Pentagon. And then the news of a fourth, driven into the ground by brave citizens that died so that many others would live. From that day on our sense of vulnerability and our understanding of security would be altered forever. Then in 2008 the global financial and economic crisis stunned us and still reverberates as unemployment, economic uncertainty and failed policies cast a pall over the American recovery so desperately needed at home and abroad.

And we have seen once again that the desire for freedom is universal – as men and women in the Middle East demand it. Yet, the promise of the Arab Spring is engulfed in uncertainty; internal strife and hostile neighbors are challenging the fragile democracy in Iraq; dictators in Iran and Syria butcher their own people and threaten the security of the region; China and Russia prevent a response; and all wonder, “Where does America stand?”

Indeed that is the question of the moment- “Where does America stand?” When our friends and our foes, alike, do not know the answer to that question – clearly and unambiguously -- the world is a chaotic and dangerous place. The U.S. has since the end of World War II had an answer – we stand for free peoples and free markets, we are willing to support and defend them – we will sustain a balance of power that favors freedom.

To be sure, the burdens of leadership have been heavy. I, like you, know the sacrifices that Americans have made – yes including the ultimate sacrifice of many of our bravest. Yet our armed forces remain the sure foundation of liberty. We are fortunate to have men and women who volunteer – they volunteer to defend us on the front lines of freedom. And we owe them our eternal gratitude.

I know too that it has not always been easy – though it has been rewarding – to speak up for those who would otherwise be without a voice – the religious dissident in China; the democracy advocate in Venezuela; the political prisoner in Iran.

It has been hard to muster the resources to support fledgling democracies– or to help the world’s most desperate - the AIDs orphan in Uganda, the refugee fleeing Zimbabwe, the young woman who has been trafficked into the sex trade in Southeast Asia; the world’s poorest in Haiti. Yet this assistance – together with the compassionate works of private charities – people of conscience and people of faith - has shown the soul of our country.

And I know too that there is weariness – a sense that we have carried these burdens long enough. But if we are not inspired to lead again, one of two things will happen – no one will lead and that will foster chaos --- or others who do not share our values will fill the vacuum. My fellow Americans, we do not have a choice. We cannot be reluctant to lead – and one cannot lead from behind.

Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan understand this reality -- that our leadership abroad and our well being at home are inextricably linked. They know what needs to be done. Our friends and allies must be able to trust us. From Israel to Poland to the Philippines to Colombia and across the world -- they must know that we are reliable and consistent and determined. And our adversaries must have no reason to doubt our resolve -- because peace really does come through strength. Our military capability and technological advantage will be safe in Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan’s hands.

We must work for an open global economy and pursue free and fair trade – to grow our exports and our influence abroad. In the last years, the United States has ratified three trade agreements, all negotiated in the Bush Administration. If you are concerned about China’s rise – consider this fact – China has signed 15 Free Trade Agreements and is negotiating 20 more. Sadly we are abandoning the playing field of free trade – and it will come back to haunt us.

We must not allow the chance to attain energy independence to slip from our grasp. We have a great gift of oil and gas reserves here in North America that must be and can be developed while protecting our environment. And we have the ingenuity in the private sector to tap alternative sources of energy.

And most importantly, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan will rebuild the foundation of American strength – our economy – stimulating private sector led growth and small business entrepreneurship. When the world looks at us today they see an American government that cannot live within its means. They see a government that continues to borrow money, mortgaging the future of generations to come. The world knows that when a nation loses control of its finances, it eventually loses control of its destiny. That is not the America that has inspired others to follow our lead.

After all, when the world looks to America, they look to us because we are the most successful political and economic experiment in human history. That is the true basis of “American Exceptionalism.” The essence of America – that which really unites us -- is not ethnicity, or nationality or religion – it is an idea -- and what an idea it is: That you can come from humble circumstances and do great things. That it doesn’t matter where you came from but where you are going.

Ours has never been a narrative of grievance and entitlement. We have not believed that I am doing poorly because you are doing well. We have not been envious of one another and jealous of each other’s success. Ours has been a belief in opportunity and a constant battle – long and hard -- to extend the benefits of the American dream to all – without regard to circumstances of birth.

But the American ideal is indeed endangered today. There is no country, no not even a rising China, that can do more harm to us than we can do to ourselves if we fail to accomplish the tasks before us here at home.

More than at any other time in history –the ability to mobilize the creativity and ambition of human beings forms the foundation of greatness. We have always done that better than any country in the world. People have come here from all over because they believed in our creed – of opportunity and limitless horizons. They have come from the world’s most impoverished nations to make five dollars not fifty cents– and they have come from the world’s advanced societies – as engineers and scientists -- to help fuel the knowledge based revolution in the Silicon Valley of California; the research triangle of North Carolina; in Austin, Texas; along Route 128 in Massachusetts – and across our country.

We must continue to welcome the world’s most ambitious people to be a part of us. In that way we stay perpetually young and optimistic and determined. We need immigration laws that protect our borders; meet our economic needs; and yet show that we are a compassionate people.

We have been successful too because Americans have known that one’s status at birth was not a permanent station in life. You might not be able to control your circumstances but you could control your response to your circumstances. And your greatest ally in doing so was a quality education.

Let me ask you, though, today, when I can look at your zip code and can tell whether you are going to get a good education – can I really say that it doesn’t matter where you came from – it matters where you are going. The crisis in K-12 education is a grave threat to who we are.

My mom was a teacher – I have the greatest respect for the profession – we need great teachers – not poor or mediocre ones. We need to have high standards for our students – self-esteem comes from achievement not from lax standards and false praise. And we need to give parents greater choice – particularly poor parents whose kids – most often minorities -- are trapped in failing neighborhood schools. This is the civil rights struggle of our day.

If we do anything less, we will condemn generations to joblessness, hopelessness and dependence on the government dole. To do anything less is to endanger our global economic competitiveness. To do anything less is to tear apart the fabric of who we are and cement a turn toward grievance and entitlement.

Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan will rebuild us at home and inspire us to lead abroad. They will provide an answer to the question, “Where does America stand?” The challenge is real and these are tough times. But America has met and overcome difficult circumstances before. Whenever you find yourself doubting us – just think of all the times that we have made the impossible seem inevitable in retrospect.

America’s victorious revolutionary founding – against the greatest military power of the time; a Civil War – hundreds of thousands dead in a brutal conflict – but emerging a stronger union; a second founding – as impatient patriots fought to overcome the birth defect of slavery and the scourge of segregation; a long struggle against communism – that ended with the death of the Soviet Union and the emergence of Europe, whole free and at peace; the will to make difficult decisions, heart-wrenching choices in the aftermath of 9/11 that secured us and prevented the follow-on attacks that seemed preordained at the time.

And on a personal note– a little girl grows up in Jim Crow Birmingham – the most segregated big city in America - her parents can’t take her to a movie theater or a restaurant – but they make her believe that even though she can’t have a hamburger at the Woolworth’s lunch counter – she can be President of the United States and she becomes the Secretary of State. Yes, America has a way of making the impossible seem inevitable in retrospect. But of course it has never been inevitable – it has taken leadership, courage and an unwavering faith in our values.

Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan have the experience and the integrity and the vision to lead us – they know who we are, what we want to be and what we offer the world.

That is why this is a moment – an election – of consequence. Because it just has to be – that the most compassionate and freest country on the face of the earth – will continue to be the most powerful!

May God Bless You – and May God continue to bless this extraordinary, exceptional country – the United States of America."

Speech by Democrat Turncoat Artur Davis at the Republican National Convention (Text / Video)

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you.

Some of you may know, the last time I spoke at a convention, it turned out I was in the wrong place.

So, Tampa, my fellow Republicans, thank you for welcoming me where I belong.

We have a country to turn around. This week you will nominate the most experienced executive to seek the presidency in 60 years in Mitt Romney.

He has no illusions about what makes America great, and he doesn’t confuse the presidency with celebrity, or loftiness with leadership.

What a difference four years makes.

The Democrats’ negative ads convince me that Governor Romney can’t sing, but his record convinces me he knows how to lead, and I think you know which skill we need more.

Now, America is a land of second chances, and I gather you have room for the estimated 6 million of us who know we got it wrong in 2008 and who want to fix it.

Maybe we should have known that night in Denver that things that begin with styrofoam Greek columns and artificial smoke typically don’t end well.

Maybe the Hollywood stars and the glamor blinded us a little: you thought it was the glare, some of us thought it was a halo.

But in all seriousness, do you know why so many of us believed? We led with our hearts and our dreams that we could be more inclusive than America had ever been, and no candidate had ever
spoken so beautifully.

But dreams meet daybreak: the jobless know what I mean, so do the families who wonder how this Administration could wreck a recovery for three years and counting.

So many of those high-flown words have faded.

Remember the President saying of negative politics and untrue ads, “not this time?”

Who knew “not this time” just meant “not unless the economy is still stuck and we can’t run on our record?”

Remember, too, when he said, “this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal?”

Who knew the plain English version of it was, “middle America, get ready to shell out 60 bucks to fill up your car?”

And in terms of their crown jewel legislative achievement: who knew that when asked, “will government impose a new federal mandate requiring middle class Americans to buy health
insurance whether they can afford it or not?”

The answer would be “Yes we can!”

So, this time, in the name of 23 million of our children and parents and brothers and sisters who are officially unemployed, underemployed, or who have stopped looking for work, let’s put the
poetry aside, let’s suspend the hype, let’s come down to earth and start creating jobs again.

This time, instead of moving oceans and healing planets, let’s get our bills in order and pay down the debt on that wall so we control our own future.

And of course, we know that opportunity lies outside the reach of some of our people.

We don’t need flowery words about inequality to tell us that, and we don’t need a party that has led while poverty and hunger rose to record levels to give us lectures about suffering.

Ladies and gentlemen, there are Americans who are listening to this speech tonight who haven’t always been with you, and I want you to let me talk — just to them – for a moment.

I know how loaded up our politics is with anger and animosity, but I have to believe we can still make a case over the raised voices.

There are Americans who voted for the president, but who are searching right now, because they know that their votes didn’t build the country they wanted.

To those Democrats and independents whose minds are open to argument: listen closely to the Democratic Party that will gather in Charlotte and ask yourself if you ever hear your voice in the clamor.

Ask yourself if these Democrats still speak for you.

When they say we have a duty to grow government even when we can’t afford it, does it sound like compassion to you — or recklessness?

When you hear the party that glorified Occupy Wall Street blast success; when you hear them minimize the genius of the men and women who make jobs out of nothing, is that what you teach your children about work?

When they tell you America is this unequal place where the powerful trample on the powerless, does that sound like the country your children or your spouse risked their lives for in Iraq or
Afghanistan?

Do you even recognize the America they are talking about? And what can we say about a house that doesn’t honor the pictures on its walls?

John F. Kennedy asked us what we could do for America. This Democratic Party asks what can government give you. Don’t worry about paying the bill, it’s on your kids and grandkids.

Bill Clinton took on his base and made welfare a thing you had to work for; this current crowd guts the welfare work requirement in the dead of night.

Bill Clinton, Jack Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson reached out across the aisle and said meet me in the middle; but their party rammed through a healthcare bill that took over one-sixth of our economy, without accepting a single Republican idea, without winning a single vote in either house from a party whose constituents make up about 50 percent of the country.

You know, the Democrats used to have a night when they presented a film of their presidential legends: if they do it in Charlotte, the theme song should be this year’s hit, “Somebody That I Used to Know.”

My fellow Americans, when great athletes falter, their coaches sometimes whisper to them “remember who you are.” It’s a call to their greatness at a moment when their bodies and spirit are too sapped to remember their strength.

This sweet, blessed, God-inspired place called America is a champion that has absorbed some blows.

But while we bend, we don’t break.

This is no dark hour; this is the dawn before we remember who we are.

May it be said of this time in our history: 2008 to 2011: lesson learned.

2012: mistake corrected.

God bless you, God bless America. Thank you.

Speech by Mia Love, Mayor of Saratoga Springs, UT to the Republican National Convention (Text / Video)

Let me tell you about the America I know. My parents immigrated to the U.S. with ten dollars in their pocket, believing that the America they had heard about really did exist. When times got tough they didn’t look to Washington, they looked within.

So the America I came to know was centered in personal responsibility and filled with the American dream.

The America I know is grounded in the determination found in patriots and pioneers, in small business owners with big ideas, in the farmers who work in the beauty of our landscape, in our heroic military and Olympians.

It’s in every child who looks at the seemingly impossible and says, “I can do that.” That is the America I know!

President Obama’s version of America is a divided one — pitting us against each other based on our income level, gender, and social status. His policies have failed! We are not better off than we were 4 years ago, and no rhetoric, bumper sticker, or campaign ad can change that.

Mr. President I am here to tell you that the American people are awake and we are not buying what you are selling in 2012.

The American Dream is our story. It is a story of human struggle, standing up and striving for more. Our story has been told for over 200 years with small steps and giant leaps; from a woman on a bus to a man with a dream; from the bravery of the greatest generation, to the entrepreneurs and the innovators of today.

This is our story. This is the America we know because we built it.

With Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan we can restore the America we know and love. The world will know it, our children will tell it and our grandchildren will possess it for years to come!

God bless America.

Artur Davis Considers Switching to Republican Party in Order to be 'Herman Cain, Jr.'

There was a time when I thought that Artur Davis was going to be a historic African American politician. He looked like he was going to follow the lead of President Barack Obama by doing what had never been done before ... in this case, being a Black man elected to serve as the governor of the state of Alabama. However, things went sidewise for former congressman Davis and he lost in the Democratic primary.


The experience soured Davis on the Democrats. That is the only explanation for his recent support of voter suppression laws around the nation. These laws have a negative impact on voter turnout for African Americans ... and so it was odd to see Davis supporting them.

However, now things make more sense. It appears that Artur Davis is now actively considering the idea of switching to the Republican Party. I guess he saw how much book sales and speaking fees went up for Herman Cain.

In my view, Artur Davis is simply a lost soul ... as our most Black folks that join the Republican Party.

The Racism of Ron Paul

Dr. Ron Paul is a serial candidate for the Republican nomination to become President of the United States. He is also a serial racist. He fought against making an official holiday for Martin Luther King Jr.   He called it "Hate Whitey Day".  That was only the beginning.  There is a disturbing pattern of racism in this Ron Paul Political Report.  Here are some links to some of the racial comments in his most incendiary newsletters.

• “A Special Issue on Racial Terrorism” analyzes the Los Angeles riots of 1992: “Order was only restored in L.A. when it came time for the blacks to pick up their welfare checks three days after rioting began. ... What if the checks had never arrived? No doubt the blacks would have fully privatized the welfare state through continued looting. But they were paid off and the violence subsided.”
• The November 1990 issue of the Political Report had kind words for David Duke.
• This December 1990 newsletter describes Martin Luther King Jr. as “a world-class adulterer” who “seduced underage girls and boys” and “replaced the evil of forced segregation with the evil of forced integration.”
• A February 1991 newsletter attacks “The X-Rated Martin Luther King.”
• An October 1990 edition of the Political Report ridicules black activists, led by Al Sharpton, for demonstrating at the Statue of Liberty in favor of renaming New York City after Martin Luther King. The newsletter suggests that  “Welfaria,”  “Zooville,” “Rapetown,” “Dirtburg,”and “Lazyopolis ” would be better alternatives—and says,  “Next time, hold that demonstration at a food stamp bureau or a crack house.”

• A May 1990 issue of the Ron Paul Political Report cites Jared Taylor, who six months later would go onto found the eugenicist and white supremacist periodical American Renaissance. 
  
• The January 1993 issue of the Survival Report worries about America’s “disappearing white majority.”
• The July 1992 Ron Paul Political Report declares, “Jury verdicts, basketball games, and even music are enough to set off black rage, it seems,” and defends David Duke. The author of the newsletter—presumably Paul—writes, “My youngest son is starting his fourth year in medical school. He tells me there would be no way to persuade his fellow students of the case for economic liberty.”
• A March 1993 Survival Report describes Bill Clinton’s supposedly “illegitimate children, black and white: ‘woods colts’ in backwoods slang.”

This is some nasty stuff ... and it was always written in a newsletter under his own name. Paul has disavowed these articles and statements. I find it hard to think that he's sincere. He didn't apologize for these newsletter articles. Instead he is trying to say that he never wrote nor read about these racist comments.

Dr. Paul is uncomfortable about the fact that people are beginning to unearth his past thoughts and statements on race relations in America. I guess this must be how Herman Cain was feeling when his past sexual improprieties began to get publicized!

What is your take on Dr. Ron Paul?

Video of the Day: Rick Perry is an Intellectual Midget

I guess it's fair to say that Rick Perry just lost any chance he had to win the Republican nomination for president. In fact, Rick Perry may now replace Dan Quayle as the biggest dummy to ever run for the presidency ... with honorable mention to Sarah Palin.





It turns out the the Department of Energy was the third agency that Rick Perry was trying to remember.

Do you see any future for Rick Perry?

Brennan Center for Justice Issues Report on GOP Voter Suppression Efforts in America

I hope that villagers are taking a close look at the voter suppression efforts that have been implemented by GOP governors and legislators around the nation lately. A new report from the Brennan Center for Justice shines the spotlight on a range of new state laws that make it more difficult to vote, particularly for poor and voters of color.

These new restrictions fall most heavily on young, low-income voters, African Americans, Hispanics as well as on voters with disabilities. These new laws are part of a well-orchestrated campaign to hurt the chances of Democrats to retake control of Congress or retake the White House during the 2012 election.

Based on the Brennan Center’s analysis of the 19 laws and two executive actions that passed in 14 states, it is clear that:

1. These new laws could make it significantly harder for more than five million eligible voters to cast ballots in 2012.
2. The states that have already cut back on voting rights will provide 171 electoral votes in 2012 – 63 percent of the 270 needed to win the presidency.
3. Of the 12 likely battleground states in 2012 -- five have already cut back on voting rights (and may pass additional restrictive legislation), and two more are currently considering new restrictions.

I encourage you to read the report and come to your own conclusions. One thing that is obvious ... the Republicans are pulling out all of the stops to defeat President Obama in the 2012 elections. The question for us ... will we allow voter suppression strategy to work? Or will we register and vote in numbers that exceed expectations?

WTF?! Herman Cain Leads Both Romney and Perry in Latest Poll Results

Mitt Romney must be scratching his head right about now.   He has been running for the presidential nomination of the Republican Party for over five years now and he can't seem to get any love.  

Today we learn that Romney isn't even the "front-runner" any longer.   At least according to the NBC/Wall Street Journal poll that named Herman Cain the front-runner for the Republican nomination in 2012. According to the poll 27 percent of Republican voters surveyed made Cain their first choice, and Mitt Romney dropped down to second place with 23 percent.

Do you have any idea why Cain is rising and Romney is stagnant in these latest polls?

Herman Cain Hypnotizes His Opponents with the 9-9-9 Plan

I watched most of the GOP debate that was on the Bloomberg channel earlier this week. A couple of things stood out for me:

• Rick Perry is truly unprepared for prime time.  You have to begin to wonder what the people of Texas were thinking when they elected him to political office.  He has looked lousy in all four debates so far.
• Mitt Romney is an experienced debater.  However, it appears that his positive debate performances still haven't brought him much love from the GOP primary voters.
• Herman Cain made a winning decision when he began to focus on his so-called '9-9-9' economic plan.  Every GOP candidate in the debate seemed to have something to say about it.   Accordingly to the following video the word, 'nine' was mentioned 85 times during the debate!

Do you think that Herman Cain has a chance to win any of the Republican primaries this year?

Voter Suppression 'Map of Shame' is Now Interactive

Soulclap to The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law for sharing an interactive map of the voter suppression efforts taking place around the country.

We continue to see voter photo ID laws and other suppressive legislation being brought forward by Republican governors and legislators. These proposed laws threaten to roll back many efforts that have increased voter registration and turnout over the past few election cycles.

Restrictive voter ID laws are truly a "solution in search of a problem," since the issue they purport to address - impersonation of voters at the polls - is practically nonexistent. Therefore, these newly enacted voter photo ID requirements serve only to remove eligible voters from our democracy and are NOT needed to stop potential impersonation voter fraud. So why are these laws being enacted? It is obvious that other, more sinister motivations are at play here.

It seems obvious to most of us that these are thinly-veiled efforts to keep young people, senior citizens, poor people and people of color away from the voter booth in the 2012 election cycle.

This blog seeks to remind you that our right to vote is too important to allow these cynical plans by the Republican Party to continue unabated.

Add your name to the growing number of 'villagers' who are saying, "Enough is enough! Stop these harmful laws and focus on real reforms that will expand access to our democracy for all Americans."

Visit the interactive map to see what your state is doing to suppress your vote!

Gov. Chris Christie Announces That He's Available for Vice-Presidency

I see that New Jersey Governor Chris Christie announced AGAIN that he will not be running for president in 2012. Christie, 49, has said for months that he would not seek the Republican nomination to run against President Barack Obama next year, saying he is not ready.





Maybe people ought to take him at his word.

I understand that Republican Party donors (like Karl Rove) and party activists were putting a full-court press on Christie (known to some as Gov. Krispy Kreme) to reconsider his decision. However, Christie saw what happened to another governor ... Rick Perry ... when he was unprepared for big-time presidential politics. The lesson learned from Perry is that you shouldn't try to do what you're not prepared to do. You'll only embarrass yourself (NOTE: Sarah Palin is another example!).

I suspect that the next call-to-action for Christie will be answering questions about the vice-presidency. I wonder if he wants to be on the ticket with Mitt Romney?  Christie said that he wouldn't be interested ... but, methinks that Christie has said that he didn't want dessert a few times and then later changed his mind.  So, why don't we think he can change his mind on the vice-presidency?

Wordless Wednesday: Republicans 2012, Keeping Millions Out of Work

Do Republicans Really Believe That We Should 'Let Him Die'?

The audience in the recent GOP presidential candidate debates is making almost as much news as the candidates themselves. Whether it is cheering the number of death penalty killings in Texas or yelling out 'Yes' when the moderator asked a candidate if he would let a person without insurance die rather than provide emergency room care ... the GOP appears to have gone wild.

One woman -- Susan Grigsby -- was moved and quite hurt by the 'Let Him Die' incident at the GOP debate. She shares her personal insights on the issue ... and wonders why all of the GOP candidates were silent on the matter.

What do you think?

Voter Suppression Strategy by Republican Party in Nebraska and Pennsylvania

Soulclap to Mirror on America for pointing us to this interview with Melissa Harris-Perry, professor of political science at Tulane University. Dr. Harris-Perry talks with Rachel Maddow about a national effort by state Republican leaders to reconfigure voting rules, independent of principle and to bias the electoral system against President Obama's re-election.

There is some detailed information about how these voter suppression efforts are taking place in Nebraska and Pennsylvania.

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

Are you hearing about voter suppression in your state?

Mitch Daniels Won't Run for President; He Realizes He Can't Beat Obama

Governor Mitch Daniels (R-IN) is the latest in a growing list of Republican heavyweights who has pulled out of the 2012 presidential campaign. Daniels said in an email to supporters he had decided not to seek the Republican presidential nomination because of family considerations.

"The counsel and encouragement I received from important citizens like you caused me to think very deeply about becoming a national candidate," Daniels said in the email sent by Eric Holcomb, chairman of the Indiana Republican Party and a close adviser to the governor.

"In the end, I was able to resolve every competing consideration but one, but that, the interests and wishes of my family, is the most important consideration of all," he said.

"If I have disappointed you, I will always be sorry."

Daniels is the third GOP candidate to bow out of the race in the past eight days. Businessman Donald Trump as well as former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee said no to the contest during that time frame.  They each gave their reasons for pulling out ... but, I think it is becoming obvious that the Republicans don't think that they can beat Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential election.

I 'spose that two people who read this blog post with a smile are Mitt Romney (current GOP frontrunner) and President Barack Obama. I also imagine that we will begin to hear more stories about Governor Chris Christie (R-NJ). Christie will be getting more pressure to be a late entrant into the presidential race now that Daniels isn't going to run.

What are your thoughts on Daniels decision to pull out of the presidential race?

South Carolina GOP Debate Covers Drugs, Obama and the Economy; Herman Cain Declared the Winner

If past political history is any judge ... then the Republican Party will select businessman Herman Cain as their candidate in 2012 to run for the presidency against incumbent Barack Obama. After all, the GOP voters in South Carolina primaries have been right on the GOP presidential candidate in every election since 1980 and the GOP voters in a focus group following last night's South Carolina GOP presidential debate OVERWHELMINGLY indicated that Herman Cain was the winner of the debate.

See for yourself:





It was a surreal event in many respects. There were five candidates on the stage at this debate: Rep. Ron Paul, Herman Cain, former governor Tim Pawlenty, former senator Rick Santorum and former governor Gary Johnson.

Herman Cain

• Ron Paul - Paul is like your crazy uncle at the Thanksgiving dinner. You're never quite sure what he's going to say in front of the kids ... and you're never quite sure if he's right in the head. Last night, Paul made a passionate defense of the need to legalize heroin. His rant seemed to get the largest audience response of the night.
• Herman Cain - The focus group says that he won the debate. I smiled when one of the focus group members noted that Cain was 'articulate'. White folks are still amazed when they see a Black man who knows how to correctly use verbs and adjectives in a sentence. Quite frankly, the best part of last night's debate for Cain was the Fox News focus group afterwards. He was the definite winner in the minds of those 29 folks.
• Tim Pawlenty - He had the highest profile of any participant in last night's debate. I thought that the others might pile on him ... but, Pawlenty managed to hold his own last night. His roughest moment came when he tried to squirm his way out of a question about 'Cap and Trade' legislation in Minnesota. It turns out that he was for it before he was against it.
• Rick Santorum - He is still a cultural warrior. He doesn't have many ideas on any of the economic or foreign police issues ... but, he had a lot to say last night about family values.



Gary Johnson

• Gary Johnson - I need to be honest. I had never seen or heard about Gary Johnson until last night. Who knew that he was a governor in New Mexico? Who knew that he admits to smoking marijuana and feels that marijuana use should be legalized? Who knew that he doesn't care for the reality shows of either Donald Trump or Sarah Palin? Who knew that one of his life goals is to climb the highest mountains on each of the 7 continents? These were all things that we learned during the debate last night!

Did any of you watch the South Carolina GOP debate?

Haley Barbour Realizes He Can't Beat Obama So He Won't Run

It is nice to see that the political world will not have to re-litigate race relations as explained to us by ol' school white southern Republican governor Haley Barbour (R-MS). Barbour decided that he won't try to run against Barack Obama for the presidency in 2012. [SOURCE]

“I will not be a candidate for president next year. This has been a difficult, personal decision, and I am very grateful to my family for their total support of my going forward, had that been what I decided,” he said.

“Hundreds of people have encouraged me to run and offered both to give and raise money for a presidential campaign. Many volunteers have organized events in support of my pursuing the race. Some have dedicated virtually full time to setting up preliminary organizations in critical, early states and to helping plan what has been several months of intensive activity.

“I greatly appreciate each and every one of them and all their outstanding efforts. If I have disappointed any of them in this decision, I sincerely regret it.”

Barbour doesn't have the "fire in the belly" to get into a campaign that would be sure to turn on race relations at some point. The press wouldn't be able to resist the story line of a white Southerner who waxes philosophically on the Ku Klux Klan and its ilk versus an African American incumbent. Perhaps this is a good sign to know that Barbour didn't have the stomach for it ... perhaps it means that America won't tolerate it from other GOP candidates either.


It is nice to see Haley Barbour is no longer going to be part of the national political debate. Who's next?