Online Left

Pro-Romney super PAC attacks Santorum in South Carolina mail

"Restore Our Future," the super PAC backing Mitt Romney, sent out the first negative mail piece of the South Carolina primary fight on Friday - and Rick Santorum is the target.

The two-sided postcard, provided to CNN by a GOP voter who received it, casts Santorum as a serial earmarker who helped drive up federal deficits while serving in the Senate.

"Thanks to wasteful spending by politicians like Rick Santorum, the U.S. national debt is over $15 trillion and climbing," the mailer blares.

The piece says that Santorum requested "billions of dollars in pork projects" and voted two increase the debt ceiling five times.

"America can no longer afford politicians like Rick Santorum," it reads. "Say no to Rick Santorum and his big-spending ways."

The pro-Romney super PAC is also running a television ad in South Carolina and Florida attacking Santorum's fiscal record.

(Via CNN Political Ticker)

McCain: Super PACs will result in scandal, corruption

Republican Sen. John McCain on Monday blasted the Supreme Court's 2010 ruling that eventually paved the way for the rise of super PACs, blaming it for the election cycle's increasing ad wars.

"Now it's the system under which we operate, which leads to this kind of campaigning and will lead to corruption and scandals. I guarantee it." McCain said on CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer."

In the 2010 "Citizens United" case, the Supreme Court made it legal for groups to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money for a candidate, as long as the group does not coordinate with the candidate or contributed directly to his or her campaign.

Calling it the "worst decision in the last 50 years," McCain said the Supreme Court "basically unleashed–without transparency and without accountability–huge amounts of money from these so-called 'independent campaigns'."

His remarks follow announcements Monday of multi-million dollar ad buys in South Carolina from groups supporting Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich.

The group that backs Gingrich, "Winning our Future," is expected to run aggressive ads against Romney's record, ahead of South Carolina's first-in-the-South primary on Jan. 21.

The move comes after the pro-Romney group, "Restore our Future," pursued a similar tactic against Gingrich in Iowa before the state's caucuses last week.

But McCain, who recently threw his support behind Romney, said he's not worried about the upcoming ad campaign against the former Massachusetts governor.

The 2008 Republican presidential nominee also warned against Gingrich's new campaign strategy, which aims to draw sharp contrasts between his record and that of Romney.

"But, look, I lost my general election campaign, so I'm a little bit reluctant to tell people how they should campaign," McCain said.

(Via CNN Political Ticker)

Compare and Contrast

Quote of the Day

"Mr. Williams, you might stick to the penning of a new hit that you haven't had for a long period of time" --

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), slamming country singer Hank Williams Jr. for comparing Obama to Hitler.

Republicans Okay with Listeria Deaths

CNN article, Death from tainted cantaloupes rise to 15

Fifteen people have now died after consuming cantaloupe contaminated with the listeria monocytogenes bacteria, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday.

At least 84 people in 19 states have become ill with the bacteria, the agency said. And the number of illnesses could still grow, added the CDC, citing reporting lags and how the disease can develop slowly in some people.

On Tuesday, the CDC was reporting 13 deaths and 72 illnesses in what was already then the deadliest food-borne illness outbreak in the United States since 1998.

Throughout recent history, Republicans have voted against any effort to make Americans safer-by-regulation. Food safety is important to the American people. Without regulations to protect America's food supply, the deaths now associated with listeria infected foods would be minimal compared to a national food supply without regulation. With their total disregard for science, Republicans repeatedly put the health of Americans at risk. Of course, the saddest part is that these same people find some lame excuse to vote for people who put them at their families in danger. Read the following article and be afraid - be very afraid the next time you prepare dinner for your family. Just know, if your food turns out to be lethal, the Republicans don't care. You should. From a June 16 Washington Post article:

Arguing that the U.S. food supply is 99 percent safe, House Republicans cut millions of dollars Thursday from the Food and Drug Administration’s budget, denying the agency money to implement landmark food safety laws approved by the last Congress.

Saying the cuts were needed to lower the national deficit, the House also reduced funding to the Agriculture Department’s food safety inspection service, which oversees meat, poultry and some egg products. And lawmakers chopped $832 million from an emergency feeding program for poor mothers, infants and children. Hunger groups said that change would deny emergency nutrition to about 325,000 mothers and children.

Ed Fights Attacks on Postal Service

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Instructions for managers - 1878 [MACKEY VS. O'CONNOR]

In reading recently several depositions of a contested election in 1878, I stumbled across the "Instructions for Managers", included in the file.  I found it interesting.  I hope you will, too. The contest was in the Second Congressional District of South Carolina, U.S. House of Representatives. The contestants were Michael Patrick O'Connor and Edward William McGregor Mackey.

Each manager of election must take and subscribe, before any officer authorized to administer an oath, the oath of office provided by the constitution, and send the same to the commissioners of election, to be filed in the office of the clerk of the court.

1. At their first meeting, the managers should organize themselves into a board by appointing one of their number chairman. The chairman should administer the necessary oaths in the course of the election.

2. The managers must then appoint a clerk, who must take the oath provided by the constitution before the chairman of the board.

3. The polls must be opened at 6 o'clock a.m., and closed at 6 p.m.; and must be kept open, without intermission or adjournment, during these hours.

4. At the opening of the poll the box must be publicly opened and inspected, to see that it is empty and secure, then locked, the key returned to the managers, and not again opened during the election.

5. The managers must administer to each person offering to vote an oath that he is qualified to vote a this election according to the constitution of this State, and that he has not voted during this election.

6. The voting must be by ballot, which must contain written or printed, or partly written and partly printed, the names of the persons voted for, and the offices to which such persons are intended to be chosen, and must be so folded as to conceal the contents.

7. The clerk of the poll must keep a poll-list, upon which must be entered the name of every elector voting at the election.

Now for me, this is when it gets really interesting!

8. At the close of the election the managers and clerk must immediately proceed, publicly, to open the ballot-box and count the ballots therein; and continue such count, without adjournment or interruption, until the same is completed.  If, in counting, two or more lke ballots should be found folded together compactly, only one shall by counted, and the others destroyed; but if they bear different names, the same must be destroyed and not counted. If more ballots are found, on opening the box, than there are names on the poll-list, all the ballots must be returned to the box and thoroughly mixed together, and one of the managers, or the clerk, must without seeing the ballots, draw therefrom and immediately destroy as many ballots as there are in excess of the number of names on the poll-list.

9. After counting the votes, the managers and clerk must make and sign a statement of the result of the election.  Within three days after the election, the chairman of the board, or one of the managers designated in writing by the board, must deliver to the commissioners of election their written statement of the result of the election, the poll-lists, and the boxes containing the ballots, properly sealed and secured. The managers must, in addition to the statement of the result of the election, make and sign separate returns of the number of votes cast for governor and lieutenant-governor, in duplicate, and seal up the same, and deliver them to the commissioners of election, to be transmitted to teh secretary of state, and filed with the clerk of the court.

This is an interesting case that tells a lot about our country, campaigns, elections and politicians. Rather than ending it here, I'll periodically post more from MACKEY VS. CONNOR, as my schedule permits.

Thanks for reading.

White House Talking Points: Reducing the Deficit and Meeting our Obligations

 One of the most important and urgent things we can do for the economy is get our fiscal house in order and reduce our nation’s deficit. 

 

• There is no doubt that a large burden on economic growth is the size of the federal debt.  Many are waiting to invest in our economy until we, as a nation, can act responsibly to deal with it and make our future more secure.

 

• The President wants the biggest deal possible to reduce the deficit and he will meet with Congressional leaders every day until it gets done. 

 

• He believes that solving our fiscal problems is an economic imperative that requires shared sacrifice.  We cannot ask the middle-class and seniors to bear all the burden of higher costs and budget cuts. 

 

• We need a balanced approach that asks the very wealthiest and special interests to pay their fair share as well, and we believe the American people agree.  We’re talking about getting rid of tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires; tax breaks for oil companies, hedge fund managers, and corporate jet owners. 

 

• The President is willing to make tough choices -- it’s time for members of both parties to do the same.  He’s willing to make tough choices when it comes to entitlement reform.  He put forth a framework to make Medicare and Medicaid stronger and more efficient without shifting the cost of care to our seniors or people with disabilities.

 

• He also supports working in a bipartisan way to strengthen Social Security for future generations. 

 

• Both parties have made real progress thus far, and to back off now will not only fail to solve our fiscal challenge, it will confirm the cynicism people have about politics in Washington. 

 

• The President believes that now is the moment to rise above that cynicism and show the American people that we can still do big things. 

 

• We can’t simply kick the can down the road – that’s how we built up this debt in the first place.

 

• We must take a balanced approach that includes shared sacrifice to force our government to live within its means and put our economy on a stronger footing for the future. 

 

• We must get this done before August 2nd to ensure that America does not default on its obligations.  If America, for the first time in its history, defaults on its obligations, it would have a catastrophic impact on our economy and the financial system.

 

• The United States must pay its bills. Defaulting on our obligations will:
  • Require the government to stop, limit, or delay payments on a broad range of legal obligations, including military salaries, Social Security and Medicare benefits, interest on the national debt, and tax refunds.

 

• We will see a spike in interest rates for mortgages, car loans and credit cards.

 

• It will also hurt folks who have been putting money away in their 401(k)s to save for retirement or into accounts for their kids’ education.

 

##

 

Not ready for prime time -- or Sunday morning

NOT READY FOR PRIME TIME -- OR SUNDAY MORNING.... In May, right-wing ophthalmologist Rand Paul, shortly after winning Kentucky's Republican Senate primary, agreed to appear on 'Meet the Press.' Upon realizing the candidate might be asked to explain his extremist ideology, the Rand campaign quickly walked away from the commitment.

Four months later, right-wing activist Christine O'Donnell, shortly after winning Delaware's Republican Senate primary, agreed to appear on 'Face the Nation' and 'Fox News Sunday.' And wouldn't you know it, after realizing O'Donnell may be asked about her witchcraft-dabbling, gay-hating, anti-masturbation-crusading, delusion-sharing background, the Republican nominee discovered she has other plans tomorrow.

Yes, just one day before her scheduled appearances, O'Donnell backed out.

Campaign spokeswoman Diana Banister cited scheduling conflicts and said O'Donnell needed to return to Delaware for commitments to church events and afternoon picnic with Republicans in a key county where she has solid backing.

'Tomorrow the priorities are back in Delaware,' Banister said. 'Those are people who supported her, who were very helpful to her in the campaign, and she feels obligated to be there and thank them.'

The campaign spokesperson added, 'We felt really bad.'

Of course.

It's one thing to duck 'Face the Nation'; Bob Schieffer leans to the right, but he's a media professional who would have asked real questions. But O'Donnell also bailed on Fox News, suggesting either she, her team, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, or some combination of the three aren't even confident in her ability to handle questions from a Republican cable network.

Noting recent examples -- Palin, Angle, et al -- David Kurtz added, 'It's become a staple of the tea party candidacy. You make a big splash onto the national stage then quickly retreat from any press scrutiny because you are so unprepared and ill-equipped for the rigors of the job that tough questions will expose you as the charlatan you are.'

It's worth noting that Chris Coons, the sane candidate who's on track to defeat Christine O'Donnell, hasn't been invited onto any of the Sunday shows, even after her cancellations. Imagine that.

"

(Via Political Animal.)

Takes One to Know One