Headlines - Sunday Sept 2

 

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Taibbi: Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan Speeches Make Me Miss George Bush

 

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Does Paul Ryan even know what the truth is about anything?Runner's World is calling BS on Ryan.

It turns out Paul Ryan has not run a marathon in less than three hours—or even less than four hours.

A spokesman confirmed late Friday that the Republican vice presidential candidate has run one marathon. That was the 1990 Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota, where Ryan, then 20, is listed as having finished in 4 hours, 1 minute, and 25 seconds.

Ryan had said in a radio interview last week that his personal best was "Under three, high twos. I had a two hour and fifty-something."

 

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Gail Collins: the Republican Party Platform, aka, "Only the Good Get Rich"

 

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What Bill Maher did to that lying sack of shit Dinesh D'Souza tonight on Real Time was fucking amazing. I've never seen someone so thoroughly pantsed in American media. It was actually like watching foreign media, where the media takes an adversarial position with the people they interview.

Maher ended the interview abruptly with "Good luck with your movie," but I swear all I heard was go fuck yourself. Video here.

 

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Bain Capital, the private equity firm founded by presidential candidate Mitt Romney, is under investigation for questionable tax practices, according to the New York Times. Since July, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has been issuing subpoenas to private equity firms including Bain, which he believes intentionally changed management fees into capital gains as a way of hanging onto millions of dollars that would have otherwise been taxed at a higher rate. Bain alone is estimated to have saved "more than $200 million in federal income taxes and more than $20 million in Medicare taxes." It is unclear whether the tax strategy was used while Romney was at the helm of the company, but the Times reports that Romney is still making money on funds that are using the method in question. A lawyer who handles Romney's money says he "can confirm that neither he nor the trust has ever done this, whether before or after he retired from Bain Capital." Still, little is known about Romney's finances, except that he makes a windfall on capital gains each year, since he has refused to release his tax returns.

 

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Yesterday, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney visited Louisiana, where much of the state was flooded due to Hurricane Issac. While visiting the Pelican State, however, Romney had some odd advice for one victim of the hurricane who had lost her home due to the flooding. According to Jodie Chiarello, a suddenly homeless resident of the state, Romney advised her to "go home and call 211." 211 is a telephone number in Louisiana that provides information to residents about health and human services programs.

 

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One freudian moment to rule them all

"Ask not what your corporation can do for you, ask what you can do for your corporation." -Mitt Romney. Not really. Maybe.

via MotherJones

 

"It's not that [Obama] wasn't trying, in my view. He was pulling the wrong direction. He didn't know what it takes to actually make the economy work. Paul Ryan and I understand how the economy works. We understand how Washington works. We will reach across the aisle and find good people who, like us, want to make sure this company deals with its challenges. We'll get America on track again."

Welcome to America®. Corporations are people my friend.

I have no doubt Mitt Romney would give the term "Corporate America" a whole new meaning.

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Karl Rove is very worried about failing to win the senate in November thanks, in part, to Todd Akin's "legitimate" rape comments.

On the final morning of the Republican National Convention, Karl Rove took the stage at the Tampa Club to provide an exclusive breakfast briefing to about 70 of the Republican Party's highest-earning and most powerful donors. During the more than hour-long session, Rove explained to an audience dotted with hedge fund billionaires and investors—including John Paulson and Wilbur Ross—how his super PAC, American Crossroads, will persuade undecided voters in crucial swing states to vote against Barack Obama. He also detailed plans for Senate and House races, and joked, "We should sink Todd Akin. If he's found mysteriously murdered, don't look for my whereabouts!"

Then Rove pleaded with his audience for more money—much more.

Todd Akin is an epic buffoon and misogynist, but joking about murdering him is completely out of bounds.

And the consider the fact that Rove doesn't necessarily disagree with anything Todd Akin said. He's simply upset that Todd Akin made his job harder.

This behind-the-scenes peek at a Karl Rove pow-wow from Bloomberg's Businessweek is an enlightening tale of what is discussed in "quiet rooms."

The best part is the revelation that Democratic messaging really is working.

Rove spoke almost exclusively about defeating Barack Obama and retaking control of the White House. There was sparse praise for Mitt Romney—either as a candidate or as a future leader and policy maker.

One of the few Romney mentions was by Haley Barbour, who jumped in to explain how Democrats hoped to define the nominee: "You know, 'Romney is a vulture capitalist who doesn't care about the likes of you. He doesn't even know people like you—he'll lay you off, cancel your insurance, shit jobs. He's a plutocrat. Married to a known equestrian!'"

I propose a toast to David Axelrod, Stephanie Cutter, and everyone else at OFA.

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