The 7th Annual AFL-CIO King Holiday Interfaith Human Rights Prayer Breakfast (yes, that’s a mouthful) was this morning and while all four Democratic gubernatorial candidates were in attendance, only Roy Barnes spoke. Not even Thurbert Baker, the first African-American Attorney General in Georgia, got to speak. Of course, it’s completely possible that the three other candidates declined speaking invitations, but let’s be serious – has labor already anointed their candidate?
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More on Who is Scott Brown (R, MA), Birther: See the Vid Clip!
[Yes, he was a birther before birthers made the MSM, via Washingtonmonthly.com]:
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_01/021958.php
“January 17, 2010
BASTARD…. As the Senate special election in Massachusetts has intensified over the last couple of weeks, voters have learned some unpleasant things about Republican Scott Brown. Yesterday’s revelation, however, is probably the ugliest.
As was first reported by Blue Mass Group, a Massachusetts-based political blog, Brown did an interview in 2008, around the time of Republican National Convention, to defend Sarah Palin as a candidate for national office. The interviewer raised the issue of the Alaska governor’s family, so the conservative state senator decided to go after Barack Obama’s parents.
“Barack’s mom had him when she was, what, 18 years old?” Brown asked, drawing a parallel between Obama’s mother and Palin’s pregnant teenage daughter. When the interviewer noted that Obama’s parents were married, Brown replied, “Well, I don’t know about that.”
The context is important here — around the time of the interview, unhinged right-wing activists were pushing the line that Obama’s parents weren’t married, a claim that became central to the bizarre Birther conspiracy theory. Brown wasn’t just attacking the future president and his parents during the interview; he was also lending credence to fringe right-wing stupidity.
For the record, there’s ample documentation to show that Obama’s parents were, in fact, married when he was born in Hawaii in 1961.
As for the Senate race, this clip has the potential to be damaging to Brown, in large part because it makes him seem like a nut. As Jon Chait noted, “By showing Brown endorsing a fringe right-wing pet theory … it’s more evidence of the fact that Brown is anything but the good government, uniter-not-a-divider moderate he pretends to be…. [O]n a visceral level, to watch him chortling as he calls Obama illegitimate is just gross and offensive. To me it exposes the man far more deeply than Coakley not knowing who Curt Schilling is.”
Much of yesterday was spent discussing Brown failing to offer health care coverage to his own staff. That’s interesting, I suppose, but defending Sarah Palin while attacking Barack Obama’s parents and endorsing a fringe right-wing conspiracy theory seems to be far more devastating in showing who Scott Brown really is.
—Steve Benen 8:00 AM Permalink | Trackbacks | Comments (28)
Lovely character this Multi-millionaire Brown is! Make the calls for Coakley! JMP
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More on Who is Senate candidate Scott Brown (R, MA):
[Via the DailyKos]:
“MA-Sen: Globe Explains What Brown Stands For
by Laura Clawson
Sat Jan 16, 2010 at 03:16:04 PM PST
In endorsing Martha Coakley, the Boston Globe makes the case for Coakley:
Voters who want to cast a critical eye on Washington without destroying the Democratic coalition should go for Coakley. Her quiet diligence in pursuing some of the most thankless, but deeply important, tasks in prosecuting child abusers, scouring the fine print of Big Dig contracts to bring back hundreds of millions of dollars, and securing $60 million from Goldman Sachs for its subprime mortgage abuses, contrasts sharply with Brown’s five-year record of voting no in a state Senate run by the opposite party.
She is by far the more qualified candidate, in experience and judgment. She has prosecuted hundreds of criminals and helped coordinate plans to protect the state from terrorist threats. As attorney general, she’s returned $1 billion to state coffers.
And they make the case against Brown:
A vote for Brown is hardly a symbolic protest against congressional gridlock and the ways of Washington. It’s a vote for gridlock, in the form of endless Republican filibusters, and for the status quo in health care, climate change, and financial regulation. That’s what will happen if Brown gives the Republicans the additional vote they need to tie up the Senate.
But two of the Globe’s columnists take on Brown’s record even more directly.
Joan Vennochi:
He is allegedly for health care reform, except he doesn’t support the historic health care reform legislation that is on the brink of passage in Washington and was Kennedy’s life quest.
He supports Roe v. Wade, except that a prominent anti-abortion advocacy group backs him as a “pro-life vote in the Senate.”
He dispatched his 21-year old daughter to attack Coakley for stating the truth: In 2005, Brown sponsored a legislative amendment that would have allowed medical personnel to deny emergency contraception to rape victims if it “conflicts with a sincerely held religious belief.” The amendment didn‚Äôt pass, but Brown owned it. It was attached to a bill that he ultimately voted for, which required emergency rooms to provide contraceptives to rape victims.
Yvonne Abraham details Republican response to that anti-emergency contraception amendment:
“I can‚Äôt believe what we‚Äôre doing to this bill,” said then-minority leader Brian Lees, who called it, “a poison pill amendment. . . . I can‚Äôt believe that you‚Äôre going to say [this] to your constituents who‚Äôve been through a traumatic experience.”
Senator Richard Tisei said: “I can‚Äôt recall another instance where we‚Äôve basically said, ‚ÄòThis is the law, and it‚Äôs OK not to follow it.‚Äô . . . It doesn‚Äôt make any sense.”
Now, you‚Äôd think a state senator would remember being publicly reamed by members of his own party, right? Or recall his own shaky defense of his proposal, which he said he put forward “just for conversation.”
Nope. On Tuesday night, When Janet Wu of WCVB-TV asked him if he‚Äôd sponsored the amendment, Brown said: “I have to check. I don‚Äôt know. It was so long ago.”
Give him points for taking enough of a break from hiding behind his daughters to say that much, I guess, but it would help if it had been anything other than an obvious lie to cover for pushing unpardonable legislation just 5 years ago.
Race tracker wiki: MA-Sen
Permalink :: Discuss (129 comments)
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/1/16/825232/-MA-Sen:-Globe-Explains-What-Brown-Stands-For
JMP
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While waiting for dinner: The Who is Scott Brown (R, MA) eve edition:
Via Think Progress & Washinton Monthly’s Politcan Animal:
“GETTING BY WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM RIGHT-WING FRIENDS…. Massachusetts is obviously right smack in the middle of the political world this weekend, with Bay State voters poised to decide on Tuesday whether legislating will be possible for the foreseeable future. To help Republican Scott Brown secure a victory, some pretty unsavory characters are investing considerable resources in his campaign.
Mike Madden reported this week, for example, that Brown has received the backing of far-right anti-immigration and anti-gay organizations. As Madden noted, “[S]upport from fringe groups does underscore the point national Democrats and labor groups have been trying to make about Brown over the last week, as they leap to rescue Coakley’s campaign: he’s far too conservative for Massachusetts voters.”
Lee Fang added yesterday that it’s not just far-right culture warriors rallying behind Brown’s candidacy — the corporate/lobbyist wing of the conservative movement sees Brown as someone who’ll stand in the way of accountability for Wall Street, especially after he announced his opposition to a financial crisis responsibility fee on large banks.
Brown’s defense of the financial industry has not been ignored by Wall Street. Wall Street’s two largest political enforcers are also out fighting to elect him:
* The Wall Street front group FreedomWorks is mobilizing get out the vote efforts for Brown this weekend. FreedomWorks organized the very first tea party protests, and has used its extensive staff and resources to mobilize rallies and advocacy campaigns on behalf of corporate interests. Dick Armey, who as a corporate lobbyist represented AIG, Lehman Brothers, and Merrill Lynch during the bailouit, is the leader of FreedomWorks. FreedomWorks is also funded and chaired by Steve Forbes and Frank Sands of Sands Capital Management.
* The Wall Street front group Club for Growth is strongly “boosting” Brown and is expected to run ads in support for him. According to recent disclosures, the Club for Growth is funded by a $1.4 million dollar donation from investor Stephen Jacksons of Stephens Groups Inc, a $1.4 million dollar donation from broker Richard Gilder, and $210,000-$630,000 donations from at least 10 other investors and financial industry professionals. The Club is also supporting a slate of candidates to repeal health reform, while its other endorsed candidates have opposed a financial truth commission.
I’m not in Massachusetts and have no idea if voters are aware of who’s helping Brown and why, but it seems like the kind of details that might have an effect on the outcome.
‚ÄîSteve Benen 9:10 AM Permalink | Trackbacks | Comments (17) ”
And yes he actually voted against the 9/11 Rescue workers:
”
WHO VOTES AGAINST HELP FOR 9/11 RECOVERY WORKERS?…. It’s a little late in the game to introduce a game-changing issue into the Senate special election in Massachusetts — the election is Tuesday, after all — but this revelation nevertheless tells voters something pretty important about Republican Scott Brown.
One month after the September 11th attacks, Scott Brown was one of only three Massachusetts State Representatives to vote against a bill to provide financial assistance to Red Cross workers who had volunteered with 9/11 recovery efforts, we’ve learned.
The Brown campaign acknowledged the vote to us, claiming the measure would have taxed already-strained state finances. […]
On October 17th, 2001, Brown voted against a bill that would authorize “leaves of absence for certain Red Cross employees participating in Red Cross emergencies.” The bill gave 15 days of paid leave each year to state workers called up by the Red Cross to respond to disasters. At the time, state workers called for such emergencies were required to use sick and vacation days.
This suggests an almost-stunning callousness. It’s all the more galling that Brown knew it was going to pass — 148 to 3 — but opposed it anyway, just to make a point.
I shudder to think what Republicans would say about a Democratic lawmaker who cast a vote like this just a month after the 9/11 attacks
The Brown campaign has said the vote was about fiscal responsibility — Massachusetts couldn’t afford assistance for Red Cross workers who had volunteered with 9/11 recovery efforts.
That’s not a bad line, I suppose, but here’s my follow-up question: why, then, does Scott Brown recommend tax cuts now that the nation can’t afford? Why would tax cuts for the wealthy be more important than help for 9/11 recovery volunteers?
DSCC spokesman Eric Schultz told Greg Sargent, “On a day with Scott Brown bringing in Rudy Giuliani, he ought to give the people of Massachusetts an explanation as to why he voted against relief for 9/11 workers. We knew Scott Brown was a shill for Wall Street and corporate interests, but I cannot imagine what excuse he comes up with for this vote. He ought to be ashamed of himself and he ought to apologize to the Mayor of New York.”
It also reinforces the fact that Brown, a favorite of the Tea Party crowd, isn’t even close to being a moderate. He’s pretty far to the right on everything from torture to taxes, health care to the economy, Wall Street accountability to global warming.
But this 9/11 vote may lead on-the-fence voters to wonder whether Brown represents “a new day,” or the worst of yesterday.
Update: On a related note, if the media is making a big deal about a DSCC ad that inadvertently showed the World Trade Center (the ad was pulled), Brown’s vote on 9/11 recovery volunteers is at least as important, if not more so.
‚ÄîSteve Benen 4:10 PM Permalink | Trackbacks | Comments (21)”
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_01/021946.php
Add to that that he’s also a well known pissant & bully of children: (Via the AP):
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/02/09/national/a055138S95.DTL#ixzz0cimnjV36
Lawmaker Reads Crude Web Posts at School
Friday, February 9, 2007
More to come as time allows. But go to MarthaCoakley.com for details too.
JMP
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More on Redstate efforts to jam Coakley’s phonebanks: Via the DailyKos:
“Should Erick Erickson go to jail for this if the law was broken?
by MinistryOfTruth
Should Erick Erickson go to jail for this if the law was broken?
Sat Jan 16, 2010 at 01:23:49 PM PST
First off, I strongly encourage anyone who is reading this to go recommend this article titled RedState trying to jam Coakley phone banks by dkos user pinback for more information on this story.
So, as for the title of this article, my question is, should Erick Erickson of RedState.com go to jail the same way the last Republican hack who pulled this phone bank tampering scam did?
Federal law prohibits making interstate calls “without disclosing the caller’s identity and with the intent to annoy . . . or harass any person at the called number.”
Rawstory.com Jan 10, 2006
A hat tip to dkos user inland for the RawStory.com link.
More below the fold . . .
* MinistryOfTruth’s diary :: ::
*
For nearly a decade, Allen Raymond stood at the top ranks of Republican Party power.
~snip~
Raymond, 39, has just finished serving a three-month sentence for jamming Democratic phone lines in New Hampshire during the 2002 US Senate race. The incident led to one of the biggest political scandals in the state’s history, the convictions of Raymond and two top Republican officials, and a Democratic lawsuit that seeks to determine whether the White House played any role. The race was won by Senator John E. Sununu , the Republican.
Rawstory.com Jan 10, 2006
Bold added by the diarist
The story of the Sununu election and Republican criminal activity leading up to that election are well known, and people have gone to jail for it. I would have assumed Erick Erickson knew that, being a forrealsy serious blogger as he claims to be”. [More @ link]:
JMP
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Here’s more on the MA Senate race via the DailyKos:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/1/16/825847/-ACTION-ITEM!-RedState-trying-to-jam-Coakley-phone-banks!
“ACTION ITEM! RedState trying to jam Coakley phone banks!
by pinback
Digg this! Share this on Twitter – ACTION ITEM! RedState trying to jam Coakley phone banks!Tweet this submit to reddit Share This
Sat Jan 16, 2010 at 11:57:01 AM PST
Erick Erickson has posted the addresses of Coakley phone banks at redstate.com.
* pinback’s diary :: ::
*
From Erickson’s diary:
Here is what I’m being told if any of you want to go by tomorrow and laugh:
Organizers are asking for volunteers to be at the IBEW address before 9 am to hear from Coakley and Vicki Kennedy tomorrow morning…
He then proceeds to list the various headquarters and meeting times.
It’s pretty clear why he would do that, and it’s not so all the redstaters can go “laugh” or volunteer to help Coakley GOTV.
The redstate denizens are taking the hint, and in the comments make various suggestions to show up and disrupt the phone banks. A couple of examples:
Jot down there callback number… put it on autodial…
Reminisce about “the good old days”…
Ask about their grandkids and family and ask if they’re voting for coakley… are any of them in the military? Why not? What’s wrong with that…
when they eventually hang up start calling them back on autodial to talk…
Anyone have access to any robocall setups?
just a thought‚Ķ Off to conventionland again in AM‚Ķ Good luck up North next Tuesday-don‚Äôt forget to be ready to call shenanigans etc…
and
Post callers numbers so we all can call them back. We can tie them up more!
Anybody need any more evidence of why we need to be getting out the vote for Coakley?
If you haven’t made calls for Coakley, yet, do it today:
Call For Coakley
If you haven’t donated to the campaign, do it today:
Donate For Coakley”
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/hqblog
JMP
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Not sure where to put this, but figured here was as good as any: Via the DPG for US Senate candidate Martha Coakley:
[Via email]:
“Football and Phone Banking!
We are having a phone bank TOMORROW (Sunday) at the Democratic Party of Georgia to call Massachusetts voters and encourage people to vote this Tuesday for Martha Coakley. We will have a 1-4pm shift and a 4-8pm shift. Any time that you can give- from a half hour to all day- will be extremely important to getting Martha Coakley elected to the US Senate.
We will have both playoff games (Vikings/Cowboys and Chargers/Jets) on and will provide refreshments as well. Feel free to come wearing your NFL gear, no matter what team you support. Even if you don’t care about football and just want to make calls…you should still come!
Click here to register for Football And Phone Banking
TOMORROW (SUNDAY) between 1p- 8p
DPG Headquarters 1100 Spring St. Suite 408
Phone Bank from Home!
Call Massachusetts voters and encourage people to vote on Tuesday for Martha Coakley from home. We give you the script and the phone numbers, and you can make a difference in this CRUCIAL race from your own living room.
Click here to register to call from home”:
Please forward this along. Health care hangs in the balance. Did my packet (25 calls) from home and it was great to hear those delicious old NE/Boston accents alone. Took all of an hour or less. Do it for Teddy, and do it for Health Care Reform!
JMP
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Wow, it didn’t take the Herritage Foundation to see the bright side of catastrophe!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VLiqgm2ma0&feature=player_embedded
“In addition to providing immediate humanitarian assistance, the U.S. response to the tragic earthquake in Haiti earthquake offers opportunities to re-shape Haiti‚Äôs long-dysfunctional government and economy as well as to improve the public image of the United States in the region.”
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“the “Jay Leno” of the Governor’s race”
Ha! That is awesome.
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Too bad there isn’t a Conan O’Brien.
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Hasn’t everyone already anointed the “Jay Leno” of the Governor’s race?
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