A Pic Peek Back

I was rummaging through some Holiday pics from last December. You all saw the FamDamily, but I never posted this one:


Yeap, that's your host, my good friend 'The Doctor', his son, and my oldest Sgt. Tom. We are catching up while enjoying Holiday beverages at, you guessed it, our favorite watering hole, Rock Bottom

Flash

-- --

Who Dat, YOU Dat! Congratulations, Saints!

Now that was a pretty good game. It was very interesting the level of respect the Colts had. Down big, driving, and even though the outcome of the game was not much in doubt, there was still a level of expectation that Manning would pull off the comeback. And then . . .the pick!!

Congrats Saints, Who Dat!! . . YOU Dat!!

Flash

PS: Here is the USA Today Ad Meter page with videos of the Commercials. The Snickers one was truly the best.

Also ran across some interesting Drama in the Doritos 'Crash the Super Bowl contest. The ad involving the casket is being accused of stealing the idea from another. HE lays out his case, here!

-- --

Budget Reality and a Splinter

When I saw this it just reminded me of how well the Right can control the message by only telling half truths and incomplete messages. There are positives and negatives to any situation, the Right isn't very good about telling you the trade-offs. Someday we'll get to the point where the people will demand honest debate, until then, the spin-meisters get to decide what we see and hear.

See Cartoons by Cartoon by John Trever - Courtesy of Politicalcartoons.com - Email this Cartoon

This one points out what I have been mentioning, recently. I believe the GOP's biggest obstacle towards major mid term gains is not the resurgence of the Democratic Party, but the continued popularity of the Tea Party Movement and the potential splintering of the GOP base.

The Left has gone through that with the Green party presidential campaigns, and the Right with Ross Perot's Reform Party. We'll see if the GOP's memory is long enough to recall what happened last time they were fractured. Since they are much better at discipline, I think they'll figure it out in time.

See Cartoons by Cartoon by David Fitzsimmons - Courtesy of Politicalcartoons.com - Email this Cartoon

Flash

-- --

Caucusing; W4 P14

The boys and I ventured to Como Senior High last night for the beginning of the DFL selection process known as the precinct caucuses. The youngest was still too young to participate, the Airman to be opted to observe rather then participate fully. That's fine with me, as we teach our children to think for themselves. They seemed to appreciate the idea of having candidates and elected officials pass through the room giving us their spiel. IT was a good first experience for both of them, and now they no the answer to the ever popular questions 'So what really DOES happen at a Precinct Caucus?"

Biggest disappointment was when the spokesman for Ramsey Country Attorney Candidate, David Schultz, came in and 90% of his statement was negatively attacking his opponents. Seriously, this is the Precinct Caucus and you have 1 minute. Seems that time should be spent on building up your own resumé, not attacking your peers. He is off my list of support for that office.

Our straw poll results for W4 P14 was:

St. Paul-W4 P14
7 Sen John Marty,
5 Matt Entenza
4 Rep. Thomas Rukavina,
2 Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher
1 Rep. Paul Thissen,

3 Uncommitted (I was in here)

Surprises include, Mayor Rybak holding his own outstate, Ruckvina's strong showing on a shoestring budget. Now we wait and watch to see if the field will thin a bit now that the first round of preference voting has taken place. With Senate District Caucuses in just a few weeks, I suspect we'll not so a lot of movement as the results of the next round of delegate selection will be much more definitive in what the makeup of the state convention will be.

On the Right, the Rep. Tom Emmer juggernaut continues. It was an amazingly strong showing for someone competing against Rep. Marty Seifert, and candidate who has been running for governor for what seems like forever. If I was a betting man, I would put my money on Emmer for the GOP endorsement as his momentum continues, and the establishment Republicans committed to their ideology goes with the "further to the Right" Emmer.

So the DFL is still herding cats, while the MNGOP begins the beating till morale improves philosophy. There is a reason the MNGOP has done so well in the Governor's race over the years, they coalesce around a candidate much sooner, and have a much easier time plugging their nose for the sake of party Unity. The folks that make up the DFL simply have stronger principles, and find it much harder to do that.

Complete results here.

-- --

Moving forward, together?

The main thrust of what I witnessed during the President's spiel at the House GOP retreat, was not his humbling and conciliatory opening, but his clear grasp of what is truly happening in Washington. The National GOP has only one goal right now, and that is to simply vote now, regardless of whether ideological support should exists. He called them on it:

I didn't understand then, and I still don't understand, why we got opposition in this caucus for almost $300 billion in badly needed tax cuts for the American people, or COBRA coverage to help Americans who've lost jobs in this recession to keep the health insurance that they desperately needed, or opposition to putting Americans to work laying broadband and rebuilding roads and bridges and breaking ground on new construction projects.

There was an interesting headline in CNN today: "Americans disapprove of stimulus, but like every policy in it." And there was a poll that showed that if you broke it down into its component parts, 80 percent approved of the tax cuts, 80 percent approved of the infrastructure, 80 percent approved of the assistance to the unemployed.

Well, that's what the Recovery Act was. And let's face it, some of you have been at the ribbon-cuttings for some of these important projects in your communities. Now, I understand some of you had some philosophical differences perhaps on the just the concept of government spending, but, as I recall, opposition was declared before we had a chance to actually meet and exchange ideas. And I saw that as a missed opportunity.

Why is it the Right so adamant about Political purity of ideological purity especially when it is inconsistent with that constituency?

And on Health Care reform:

I mean, to be fair, the status quo is working for the insurance industry, but it's not working for the American people. It's not working for our federal budget. It needs to change.

This is a big problem, and all of us are called on to solve it. And that's why, from the start, I sought out and supported ideas from Republicans. I even talked about an issue that has been a holy grail for a lot of you, which was tort reform, and said that I'd be willing to work together as part of a comprehensive package to deal with it. I just didn't get a lot of nibbles.

Creating a high-risk pool for uninsured folks with preexisting conditions, that wasn't my idea, it was Senator McCain's. And I supported it, and it got incorporated into our approach. Allowing insurance companies to sell coverage across state lines to add choice and competition and bring down costs for businesses and consumers -- that's an idea that some of you I suspect included in this better solutions; that's an idea that was incorporated into our package. And I support it, provided that we do it hand in hand with broader reforms that protect benefits and protect patients and protect the American people.

A number of you have suggested creating pools where self-employed and small businesses could buy insurance. That was a good idea. I embraced it. Some of you supported efforts to provide insurance to children and let kids remain covered on their parents' insurance until they're 25 or 26. I supported that. That's part of our package. I supported a number of other ideas, from incentivizing wellness to creating an affordable catastrophic insurance option for young people that came from Republicans like Mike Enzi and Olympia Snowe in the Senate, and I'm sure from some of you as well. So when you say I ought to be willing to accept Republican ideas on health care, let's be clear: I have.

Bipartisanship -- not for its own sake but to solve problems -- that's what our constituents, the American people, need from us right now. All of us then have a choice to make. We have to choose whether we're going to be politicians first or partners for progress; whether we're going to put success at the polls ahead of the lasting success we can achieve together for America.

Lets just say I cringe when anyone tries to say that this administration and the majority party is trying to ram through anything without consultation and incorporation of ideas from the minority. IT pains me to see reaching out taking place, ideas merged, and then the opposition votes 'No' anyway.

The President is being a leader, and his long overdue move to the middle is going to create an opportunity to keep this economic recovery going. I just wish people would sit back and owrk together to make that happen, rather then obstruct the policy just out of spite. That goes for both sides of the aisle.

Flash

-- --

Into the Lion's Den!

Without Comment, that will wait till Monday!:


The entire 90 Minutes can be viewed, unfiltered, in the CSPAN Video Library:

I strongly suggest you watch every moment for full context.

Flash

PS: The Lion's Den reference is just the phrase many other news outlets are using to describe the event

-- --

iGetIt

See Cartoons by Cartoon by Jimmy Margulies - Courtesy of Politicalcartoons.com - Email this Cartoon

-- --

Offering a Hand, a SOTU Excerpt

From the White House:

Rather than fight the same tired battles that have dominated Washington for decades, it’s time for something new. Let’s try common sense. Let’s invest in our people without leaving them a mountain of debt. Let’s meet our responsibility to the people who sent us here.

To do that, we have to recognize that we face more than a deficit of dollars right now. We face a deficit of trust – deep and corrosive doubts about how Washington works that have been growing for years. To close that credibility gap we must take action on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue to end the outsized influence of lobbyists; to do our work openly; and to give our people the government they deserve.

-- --

Debunking the Debunkers

So when these set up artists tricked some ACORN workers into talking about prostitution, the Right Wing Smear machine called it a smoking gun. When the Global Warming E-Mails were hacked, stolen, then released, it was called a smoking gun. In both cases, they claimed, definitively, that it ended the story on both issues, The Global Warming 'hoax' and the ACORN voter fraud.

Now, we find out, that the man behind the ACORN sting, is nothing more then a felonious criminal who edits peoples words in a way that would make Frank Luntz Proud. Yesterday, he was busted, breaking Federal Law:

(CNN) -- A conservative activist who made undercover videos of the liberal community-organizing group ACORN was one of four men charged Tuesday with attempting to illegally access and manipulate the phone system in a district office of U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana.

Oh, it gets better:

O'Keefe is the same activist who dressed up as a pimp last summer and visited ACORN offices to solicit advice on setting up a brothel, among other scenarios, law enforcement officials confirmed. He secretly recorded the visits on videotapes that were posted on the Internet, leading to a media firestorm.

Flanagan is the son of William Flanagan, the acting U.S. attorney for the Western District of Louisiana, his office said.

Their very bad awful day didn't end there, they were sued for the illegal videotaping since they were in a state where both parties were requiring to give permission

O'Keefe and a female associate were named in a lawsuit filed January 21 by an ACORN worker in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who accused them of illegally videotaping an interview with her last July and distributing it on the Internet.

In the Right Wing world, once you have clearly and definitively debunked the credibility of the messenger, then you can claim full vindication for their work. Or are they going to flip flop, and start quoting the 'fake but accurate' mantra LOL

Flash

-- --

SD26 - GOTV

The Special Election to fill retiring Sen Dick Day's Senate seat in District 26, today. I am sure the Right was giddy with glee as the weather moved in. Reality, is that that Scrub candidate has been fighting off his pile of baggage the whole campaign he never really got much traction. And with the support of Mikey/MDE/MNGOP (pardon the redundancy) that makes the chances for the far superior DFL candidate, Jason Engbrecht, to break through the smoke screen.

Bluestem Prairie and MPP along with many other new media outlest have been working hard on the issues in this election. If you are from the area, those are you go to sites.

But it will be tough, in this Right leaning district, to pull off the win. So GOTV is key.

A win is within reach, and the involvement of the local Smear Boat brigade generally means an upset int he making. I mean, look at how well their hard work a diligence did for Kennedy and Coleman . . remember them LOL

Flash

-- --

On to the Stadium!

I feel much better then most Queenie fans this AM. I had minimal emotional investment in this season and game, so another self destruction in the NFC game means little to me. But one thing I did see over the weekend was IP Candidate for Governor, Joe Repya's Stadium proposal. First:

I would agree to public financing of a new Viking stadium only if Ziggy Wilf and the NFL agree to sell a 51% equity of the Vikings to the State of Minnesota with a never to relocate iron clad clause.

And then:

We will increase state revenues by allowing Minnesotans to purchase one share of non-voting, non transferable interests (like the Green Bay Packers "stock" program") in the Minnesota Vikings.

Simple, but effective.

Flash

-- --

Reality of MA-Sen

The Right claims it was national referendum, the Left is hunkering down like they believe it. However, if you talk to someone who was actually there, you get a different story. He is a MA resident who stopped by yesterday with a comment (emphasis mine):

As a voter in the election for MA this past week I wanted to comment on this thread.

Scott Brown won simply because Martha Coakely never showed up. It was not the national referendum they are playing it out to be. She didn't campaign until the poll came out that showed Scott Brown ahead just two weeks ago. Scott Brown won in part from running like a Kennedy. He showed up everywhere, talked to anyone, and partnered with the strong blue collar sports fans that once motivated are a true force. (Think Red Sox fans). Her lack of effort alienated the strongest of democratic supporters in a state that has more registered independents than either democrats or republicans. I am very upset at the prospect of not having health care reform because of this result, but, if Scott Brown doesn't show up in DC as an independent voice for MA he will not last more than this term. If he pushes the national republican agenda he will not be the senator from MA for very long.

That folks is reality, without a dose of spin!

Flash

-- --

It's Not a Pretty Picture . . . or Two or Three!

Ones to give you pause, or elation, depending on your tilt:

See Cartoons by Cartoon by David Fitzsimmons - Courtesy of Politicalcartoons.com - Email this Cartoon

See Cartoons by Cartoon by Taylor Jones - Courtesy of Politicalcartoons.com - Email this Cartoon

See Cartoons by Cartoon by Brian Fairrington - Courtesy of Politicalcartoons.com - Email this Cartoon

-- --

Sen. Elect Scott Brown, . . RINO?!?

So the more I read up on the newly elected Junior Senator from Massachusetts, I wonder if the GOP took a very close look at his credentials before they hopped on his band wagon. Senator Elect Brown was down almost 30 points untill he fond some traction with the anti Health care movement. And once the polling started to trend his way, the National GOP was there for him in full force. But who is this guy.

Is the new GOP pro choice?!?

this decision should ultimately be made by the woman in consultation with her doctor,

Does the new GOP support Gay Marriage?

States should be free to make their own laws in this area, so long as they reflect the people's will as expressed through them directly, or as expressed through their elected representatives.

And where is this new GOP movement on Health Care?

Health Care
I believe that all Americans deserve health care coverage
. . .
I support strengthening the existing private market system with policies that will drive down costs and make it easier for people to purchase affordable insurance. In Massachusetts, I support the 2006 healthcare law that was successful in expanding coverage, but I also recognize that the state must now turn its attention to controlling costs.

He still embraces the 2006 State Health Reforms that many are claiming as proof why the President's plan won't work.

Romneycare was a disaster, an entirely predictable one.

Something tells me that the new Senator from Mass may just like being a Senator, and will be willing to at least make some moves to color himself Purple if he wants more then two years in Congress.

Flash

UPDATE: And unlike the Obstructionist party, Senator Franken remains consistent in when to seat Senator Elect Brown:

despite the fact that he waited eight months and three days after Election Day to be sworn in, Franken wants Brown seated as soon as he's officially certified the winner in Massachusetts.

That is a Senator, being Senatorial regardless of party affiliation!

Any percevied delay will simply be waiting for reults to be certified:

Under Massachusetts law, cities and towns must wait 10 days for absentee and overseas ballots before certifying their own results. Working at breakneck speed, it's possible Brown could be sworn in as early as Jan. 29, though the Boston Globe estimated that Feb. 3 is a more likely date.

-- --

On MA-Senate . . .

Best quote I have heard on why this race is close:

The strategist spoke approvingly when he quoted a fellow Democrat who said, "'I'd rather have Scott Brown for two years than Martha Coakley for the rest of my life."

It's tough to win if the base won't embrace the endorsed candidate. However, the Right will continue to spin this as some sort of referendum on Obama, let them! Remember how they work, when they lose they say 'All politics is local', when they win, it is a national referendum! Remember that next week when they lose Dick Day's seat to a Democratic Challenger!

Flash

UPDATE: On why the Dems need to grow a spine and not be wrapped up on the Rights attempt to hijack President Obama administration. Jon Stewart lays it out:

"Let me see if I have this straight. You need to replace perhaps the most beloved liberal in the history of the Senate with a candidate that believes Curt Schilling is a Yankee fan. Because if this lady loses, the health care reform bill that the beloved late senator considered his legacy will die," Stewart said. "And the reason it will die is because if Coakley loses, Democrats will only have then an 18-vote majority in the Senate. Which is more than George W. Bush ever had in the Senate when he did whenever the f**k he wanted."

60 is a dream number, if the Left can't get anything done with a majority on both sides the least they can do is not let the Right blame them for all that is wrong in the world, but they will, because that is what they do.

-- --