You Can’t Say Romney’s Not Transparent You Can’t Say Romney’s Not Transparent
Remember when Mitt Romney said during a debate kerfuffle that of course he wouldn’t allow “illegals” to work on his lawn? “I’m running for office, for Pete’s sake,” he said. “I can't have illegals.” Now he’s telling Fox News anchors that of course he values them. “I’ll be on Fox a lot,” he told Neil Cavuto on Tuesday, “because you guys matter when it comes to early primary voters." (h/t:TPM) Message: He cares about winning the presidency.
Dec 7, 2011 / Leslie Savan
Morning Joe: Newt’s a Flip-Flopper of Romnetic Proportions Morning Joe: Newt’s a Flip-Flopper of Romnetic Proportions
Newt Gingrich is riding high right now, surpassing Romney in most polls, and if Herman Cain drops out because allegations of a thirteen-year extramarital affair on top of a bunch of sexual harassment charges are just too much for any fledgling pseudo-candidate, what’s left of the Cain train will probably hitch onto Newt’s caboose. (TPM: “among Cain supporters, Newt Gingrich has clearly been favored over Romney as a second choice.”) But to Joe Scarborough, who served loyally in then-Speaker Gingrich’s 1994 “Republican Revolution,” Newt is one of those joke candidates, like Cain, who “should not be running for president of the United States.” The Morning Joe host said Tuesday that he just thinks Gingrich is a flip-flopper of Romnetic proportions. He could barely stop laughing at Newt’s claim in a radio interview that he’s “a lot more conservative than Mitt Romney.” Scarborough, who’s been scorching Newt for two consecutive days now, says that back in ’74 and ’76, Gingrich “ran as a Rockefeller Republican,” and even bragged about it. And while Scarborough assures us “this isn’t personal. I think it’s kind of funny,” Joe goes on to recall, “In 1994, he actually came into my race [in Florida] to endorse the moderate in my race, and said I was quote too conservative to get elected. Of course, I got 62 per cent of the vote. “But that’s always Newt. Is it in fashion to be moderate this year, or is it in fashion to be conservative this year?… “I’ve got nothing personal against Bachman, I’ve got nothing personal against Cain. I’ve got nothing personal against a lot of these people. But a lot of them should not be running for president of the United States.” The segment ends with a quiz, Who Is the Real RINO? Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Nov 30, 2011 / Leslie Savan
Pepper-Spray Cop Begets Pepper-Spray Shopper Pepper-Spray Cop Begets Pepper-Spray Shopper
And the 1 percent is pleased.
Nov 27, 2011 / Leslie Savan
Best Line of the Week on Newt’s Alleged Smarts Best Line of the Week on Newt’s Alleged Smarts
Even as Sunday talk show pundits laugh at Newt’s follies (like his claiming that Freddie Mac hired him as a “historian”), they never tire of rhapsodizing about his supposed smarts. He’s “intellectually formidable” (Mike Murphy on Meet the Press); he’s “a very smart guy” (Matthew Dowd on This Week). I think, though, that Paul Krugman, also on This Week, put it best: “Somebody said he’s a stupid man’s idea of what a smart person sounds like.” The Newtifying begins about two minutes in: video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player
Nov 21, 2011 / Leslie Savan
Herman Cain and the Politics of Eyeliner Herman Cain and the Politics of Eyeliner
In the right’s cosmology of cosmetics, a woman is damned if she wears makeup and damned if she doesn’t.
Nov 14, 2011 / Leslie Savan
Ragin’ Tea Party Rep. Joe Walsh Screams at His Constituents Ragin’ Tea Party Rep. Joe Walsh Screams at His Constituents
The humorless GOP “deadbeat dad” has a public tantrum and asks for more coffee.
Nov 9, 2011 / Leslie Savan
From Bill Ayers to Obama’s Grades: How the Cainites Avoid Talking about Sexual Harassment From Bill Ayers to Obama’s Grades: How the Cainites Avoid Talking about Sexual Harassment
The diversionary tactics are getting tackier. TPM’s Benjy Sarlin has compiled all the “Things That Don’t Affect Whether Herman Cain Sexually Harassed Two Women In the 1990s.”
Nov 4, 2011 / Leslie Savan
Bank of America Will Refund Your $5 for a Simple, One-Time $10 Refund Fee Bank of America Will Refund Your $5 for a Simple, One-Time $10 Refund Fee
Andy Borowitz channels Bank of America as it tries to make nice after dropping plans to charge costumers $5 a month to use their debit cards. “Dear Valued Costumer,” BofA writes. “We are writing to you today with a simple message: ‘Our bad.’ And to tell you that we are refunding the $5 to you, effective immediately. All you have to do is pay a simple, one-time $10 refund fee.” And more...
Nov 2, 2011 / Leslie Savan
The ‘War on Halloween’: A Trick or a Treat for Conservatives? The ‘War on Halloween’: A Trick or a Treat for Conservatives?
The right wing must decide if candy corn is cursed by demons, or blessed enough to send to Gretchen Carlson.
Oct 30, 2011 / Leslie Savan
Herman Cain, Dada Auteur Herman Cain, Dada Auteur
What, if anything, do Cain’s new ad and an even weirder one from August reveal about the GOP’s most smokin’ candidate?
Oct 27, 2011 / Leslie Savan