GOP Senator Hails Decline Of Print

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told BuzzFeed that while many of his generation mourn the fall of newspapers, he is celebrating the rise of social media -- precisely because of the havoc it has wreaked on an old media landscape that, in his view, favored the Democrats.
"Let me tell you, I think the New York Times monopoly is over," McConnell said. "Arthur Sulzberger used to have the biggest megaphone in America. And all you have to do is look at the dwindling size of newspapers, even one as big as his."

Read the whole story at www.buzzfeed.com

GOP Senators Celebrate 'Meat Monday' After USDA's 'Meatless Monday' Mishap

The hubbub over the U.S. Department of Agriculture's retracted tweet supporting "Meatless Mondays" continues.

Last week, Republican Iowa senator Chuck Grassley's made a tongue-in-cheek promise to compensate for the recommendation by eating an extra helping of meat. PETA responded with a death pool, taking bets on how long it would take for Grassley to "succumb to heart disease, diabetes, cancer, or some other meat-related disease."

On Monday, the Iowa lawmaker continued to show his defiance -- this time, with his lunch order. Texas' junior senator John Cornyn posted the below image to his office's Facebook page. The accompanying text reads: "PHOTO: Cornyn, Grassley Celebrate 'Meat Monday:'"

In a press release issued the same day, the senators spoke about the interests of the American agricultural community:

'In some of the toughest times they've seen in recent memory, Texas cattle ranchers and farmers deserve an Administration who works with them, not one who undermines them with boneheaded decisions from bureaucrats in Washington,' said Sen. Cornyn.

'This is a reminder to USDA that it's supposed to advocate for American agriculture, not against it,' Sen. Grassley said.

The piles of wrapped meat were ordered from Hill Country, a New York-based barbecue outfit located in D.C.'s Penn Quarter neighborhood not far from the senators' Capitol Hill office.

If you're in the neighborhood -- and you have a the proper clearance -- you might stand a chance at some leftovers. According to The Hill:

A staffer said that there was "plenty to go around" for the two senators' employees. The lunch included a total of 52 orders of barbecue beef sandwiches, brisket, sausage and ribs, as well as sides of cornbread and macaroni and cheese.

Also on HuffPost:

• THE MOST: 1. Luxembourg (300 Pounds/Year)

• 2. United States (276 Pounds/Year)

• 3. Australia (267 Pounds/Year)

• 4. New Zealand (255 Pounds/Year)

• 5. Spain (242 Pounds/Year)

• THE LEAST: 173. Rwanda (12 Pounds/Year)

• 174. Burundi (11 Pounds/Year)

• 175. Democratic Republic of the Congo (10 Pounds/Year)

• 176. Bangladesh (9 Pounds/Year)

  Photo by Flickr user <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelfoleyphotography/1283450175/sizes/o/in/photostream/" target="_hplink">Michael Foley Photography</a>.

• 177. India (7 Pounds/Year)

Obama Will 'Evaluate' Bill Limiting Online Ammunition Sales

WASHINGTON -- White House Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Monday that President Barack Obama will "evaluate" new legislation that effectively bans online sales of gun ammunition, but he wouldn't say whether the president could support it.

During the daily White House briefing, Earnest told The Huffington Post that he didn't know if Obama had seen the bill filed Monday by Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.). The measure would significantly curb the ability of people to buy unlimited amounts of ammunition via the Internet or other types of mail orders by requiring photo ID at the time of purchase. It would also require ammunition dealers to report bulk sales of bullets to law enforcement.

Their proposal comes just weeks after the shooting massacre in Aurora, Colo. that left 12 dead and dozens more injured. The suspected gunman had purchased more than 6,000 rounds of ammunition on the Internet shortly before allegedly going on his killing spree. The incident has revived calls for some kind of action on gun control, particularly given that nothing changed after the January 2011 shootings that killed six and injured former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), but neither Congress nor Obama has signaled a willingness to advance new gun safety legislation.

"The president's views that have been relayed quite frequently over the last few days, he said that he believes in the Second Amendment of the Constitution and the right to bear arms," Earnest said. "But he also believes we should take robust steps within existing law to ensure that guns don't fall into the hands of criminals or others who shouldn't have them."

Asked if that means Obama wouldn't support a ban on online ammunition sales, Earnest reiterated that he didn't know if the president has seen the new bill. But he did signal, albeit vaguely, that the administration would take a look at it.

"As that and other pieces of legislation make their way through the legislative process, we will consider, we'll evaluate them," Earnest said.

Lautenberg says his bill could help to prevent the sale of ammunition "to a terrorist or the next would-be mass murderer."

"If someone wants to purchase deadly ammunition, they should have to come face-to-face with the seller,' Lautenberg said in a statement. 'It's one thing to buy a pair of shoes online, but it should take more than a click of the mouse to amass thousands of rounds of ammunition."

Both Obama and presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney have taken heat for not stepping up on the issue of gun safety in response to the Colorado shootings. One of their most vocal critics has been New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

"If Washington doesn't act, 48,000 Americans will be murdered with guns during the next president's term,' Bloomberg said in a statement. "We should be having a great debate among two accomplished leaders and the people they're asking to hire them. But we're not getting leadership; we're just getting condolences."

Despite the uphill battle in Washington, gun safety proponents have chalked up some small victories. Earlier this summer, Google changed its policies to prevent online sales of ammunition and firearms through its shopping channels. Gun safety advocates also point to a recent poll by Mayors Against Illegal Guns that found that 87 percent of National Rifle Association members agree that support for Second Amendment rights goes hand in hand with keeping guns out of the hands of criminals.

Clarification: This article was edited to specify how the bill would use a photo ID requirement to curtail so-called anonymous online ammunition sales.

Also on HuffPost:

• 1981: The Attempted Assassination Of President Ronald Reagan

  on March 30, 1981, President Reagan and three others were shot and wounded in an assassination attempt by John Hinckley, Jr. outside the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C. Reagan's press secretary, Jim Brady, was shot in the head.

• 1993: The Brady Handgun Violence Act

  The Brady Handgun Violence Act of 1993, signed into law by President Bill Clinton, mandated that federally licensed dealers complete comprehensive background checks on individuals before selling them a gun. The legislation was named for James Brady, who was shot during an attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan in 1981.

• 1994: The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act

  The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1994, instituted a ban on 19 kinds of assault weapons, including Uzis and AK-47s. The crime bill also banned the possession of magazines holding more than ten rounds of ammunition.

• 2004: Law Banning Magazines Holding More Than Ten Rounds Of Ammunition Expires

  In 2004, ten years after it first became law, Congress allowed a provision banning possession of magazines holding more than ten rounds of ammunition to expire through a sunset provision. Brady Campaign President Paul Helmke told HuffPost that the expiration of this provision meant that Rep. Gabby Giffords's alleged shooter was able to fire off 20-plus shots without reloading (under the former law he would have had only ten).

• 2007: The U.S. Court of Appeals For The District Of Columbia Rules In Favor Of Dick Heller

  In 2007 The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled to allow Dick Heller, a licensed District police officer, to keep a handgun in his home in Washington, D.C. Following that ruling, the defendants petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case.

• 2008: The NICS Improvement Amendments Act

  Following the deadly shooting at Virginia Tech University, Congress passed legislation to require states provide data on mentally unsound individuals to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, with the aim of halting gun purchases by the mentally ill, and others prohibited from possessing firearms. The bill was signed into law by President George W. Bush in January of 2008.

• 2008: Supreme Court Strikes Down D.C. Handgun Ban As Unconstitutional

  In June of 2008, the United States Supreme Court upheld the verdict of a lower court ruling the D.C. handgun ban unconstitutional in the landmark case <em>District of Columbia v. Heller</em>.

• Gabrielle Giffords And Trayvon Martin Shootings

  Gun control advocates had high hopes that reform efforts would have increased momentum in the wake of two tragic events that rocked the nation. In January of 2011, Jared Loughner opened fire at an event held by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), killing six and injuring 13, including the congresswoman. Resulting attempts to push gun control legislation <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/09/trayvon-martin-shooting-gun-debate_n_1413115.html" target="_hplink">proved fruitless</a>, with neither proposal even succeeding in gaining a single GOP co-sponsor. More than a year after that shooting, Florida teenager Trayvon Martin was <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/trayvon-martin" target="_hplink">gunned down</a> by George Zimmerman in an event that some believed would bring increased scrutiny on the nation's Stand Your Ground laws. While there has been increasing discussion over the nature of those statutes, lawmakers were <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/09/trayvon-martin-shooting-gun-debate_n_1413115.html" target="_hplink">quick to concede</a> that they had little faith the event would effectively spur gun control legislation, thanks largely to the National Rifle Association's vast lobbying power. Read more <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/09/trayvon-martin-shooting-gun-debate_n_1413115.html" target="_hplink">here</a>:

Rev. Jesse Jackson: 'No Timetable' On Son's Recovery

CHICAGO -- The Rev. Jesse Jackson said there is "no timetable" as his son, U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., recovers from depression and gastrointestinal issues at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.

The elder Jackson spoke to reporters Saturday outside a downtown Chicago movie theater. The civil rights leader was with protesters in support of a ban on assault weapons.

"There is no timetable on his recovery," Jackson said. "We hope he will fully recover."

Jackson, a Chicago Democrat, has been on a secretive leave of absence for nearly seven weeks. The congressman went on leave June 10, but his office didn't disclose it until weeks later. Initially, his office said Jackson was being treated for exhaustion. Since then, the office has said his condition was more serious and required inpatient medical treatment.

The Mayo Clinic released a statement Friday saying the congressman was being treated there for depression and gastrointestinal issues.

The elder Jackson said "such a challenge is a game-changer, and challenges all members of a given family."

Jackson is facing an ethics investigation in the U.S. House connected to former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was convicted on corruption charges. Jackson was not charged and has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.

Earlier on HuffPost:

• Jesse Jackson Jr.

  FILE - In this March 21, 2010 file photo, Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., D-Ill., uses his PDA to photograph demonstrators outside on the U.S. Capitol as the House prepares to vote on health care reform in Washington. When Jackson disappeared on a mysterious medical leave in June 2012, it took weeks for anyone in Washington to notice. Jackson has never lived up to the high expectations on the national stage. But none of that seems to matter in his district, where he's brought home close to $1 billion in earmarks and other funding and won every election since 1995 in a landslide, despite nagging ethical questions over links to imprisoned former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. The dual roles could help explain why the Democrat has given so few details of his medical leave. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

• Jesse Jackson, Jr.

  FILE - In this Jan. 5, 2011 file photo, Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., D-Ill., is pictured before a ceremonial swearing in of the Congressional Black Caucus on Capitol Hill in Washington. When Jackson disappeared on a mysterious medical leave in June 2012, it took weeks for anyone there to notice. Jackson has never lived up to the high expectations on the national stage. But none of that seems to matter in his district, where he's brought home close to $1 billion in earmarks and other funding and won every election since 1995 in a landslide, despite nagging ethical questions over links to imprisoned former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. The dual roles could help explain why the Democrat has given so few details of his medical leave. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

• Jesse Jackson Jr.

  FILE - In this May 16, 2011 file photo, U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. attends ceremonies for Chicago Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel in Chicago. On Wednesday, July 11, 2012, Jackson's staff said they soon could have more information to release about the Chicago Democrat's medical condition. Jackson's been on medical leave for a month, but his location and exact ailment haven't been disclosed. Initially, staff said he was being treated for exhaustion. But last week they said his condition was worse than previously thought and required inpatient treatment. They also disclosed Jackson has been battling emotional problems. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)

• Jesse Jackson Jr.

  FILE - In this Tuesday, March 20, 2012 file photo, U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill., thanks supporters at his election night party in Chicago. Jackson's office announced Monday, June 25, 2012 in a news release that the congressman has been on a medical leave of absence since June 10 and is being treated for exhaustion. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, File)

• Jesse Jackson Jr., Sandi Jackson

  U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill., and his wife Chicago Alderman Sandi Jackson, thank family members at his election night party Tuesday, March 20, 2012, in Chicago after his Democratic primary win over challenger, former Rep. Debbie Halvorson, in the Illinois' 2nd District. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

• Jesse Jackson Jr., Sandi Jackson

  U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill., and his wife Chicago Alderman Sandi Jackson, embrace at his election night party Tuesday, March 20, 2012, in Chicago after his Democratic primary win over challenger, former Rep. Debbie Halvorson, in the Illinois' 2nd District. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

• Timothy Geithner, Jesse Jackson Jr.

  Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, right, declines an offer by U.S. Rep Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill., to talk to reporters during a tour of the Ford Motor Company Stamping Plant in Chicago Heights, Ill., Wednesday, April 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

• U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., Sandi Jackson

  U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and his wife, Chicago Alderman Sandi Jackson, ask each other for their support and votes as they arrive at a polling station for early voting, Friday, March 9, 2012, in Chicago. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

Frances Moore Lappe: The Solution to Citizens United That No One Is Talking About

Could a narrow focus on Citizens United actually set back our drive for democracy?

That's been a real worry of mine, but my thinking has been fussy. So I was relieved to see Matt Bai, the New York Times Magazine's political correspondent, take on the challenge of deciphering what can and cannot be laid at the feet of this awful ruling.

In "How Did Political Money Get This Loud?" Bai suggests that Citizens United mainly "intensified" unintended consequences of earlier reforms. He argues that the burst of political spending in the last two years, while huge, is actually in line with the trajectory of growth in campaign spending since McCain-Feingold reforms in 2002.

He stresses that the biggest consequence of McCain-Feingold and Citizens United may not be the staggering scale of spending, but that "candidates don't really have control of their own campaigns anymore..."

With the passage of McCain-Feingold, Bai explains, "parties could no longer tap an endless stream of soft money [unlimited contributions used in a range of party activities not directly asking for votes]." So they turned to another means: "independent groups with their own turnout and advertising campaigns limited in what they could say," emphasizes Bai, "but accountable to no candidate or party boss..."

Then, Citizens United and related Court decisions wiped out most remaining limits, so "[n]ow any outside group can use corporate money to make a direct case for who deserves your vote and why, and they can do so right up to Election Day." The big outside groups today are "social-welfare groups" (including, believe it or not, Koch brothers' Americans for Prosperity) and Super PACs, and the difference between them? Super PACs must disclose donors' identities, but social-welfare groups generally don't.

Many will likely debate Bai's analysis, but my concern is what it misses altogether:
"That there are solutions we can realize at least in part in the foreseeable future."

We can move democracy forward even before a new Supreme Court majority reversing Citizens United or victory in a long battle for a constitutional amendment.

Wonderfully, Americans are united across political divisions in our anger at big money's control of politics. Sixty-seven percent of us favor "voluntary public financing" of elections, already enabling regular citizens to run for the legislature in three states. And two-thirds of Americans also support disclosure of large contributors.

So let's get on with building a bipartisan uprising of voters with the guts to insist that candidates we support in November pledge to back DISCLOSE Act and Fair Elections legislation -- now being refined in Congress -- and that, once in place, they use this system, not private wealth, for their campaigns. (Under the "fair elections" bill, a candidate raises a specific number of small, in-state contributions -- each no bigger than $100 -- to qualify for significant public funds, both a lump sum and five dollars for each small-donor dollar up to a cap.) And let's demand that candidates we support denounce any unaccountable electioneering bodies, whether backing them or other candidates.

Join with the dozens of groups already on board from Public Citizen to Friends of the Earth at FairElectionsNow.org and reach out to friends and strangers who've never heard of this option.

Note that the DISCLOSE Act failed last week to achieve the super majority it needed by only nine votes. Nine is an achievable shift this November.

We can't afford to wait for the Supreme Court. We can't afford to wait for a constitutional amendment. Let's focus now on electing a president and a Congress who share the majority's position on these foundational questions. On this path, we begin to reduce the power of concentrated wealth in public decision making as we also build the inclusive citizen pressure necessary to reverse laws and rulings hindering solutions to all our biggest national challenges.

Follow Frances Moore Lappe on Twitter: www.twitter.com/fmlappe

Earl Ofari Hutchinson: Hate on Social Media Against President Obama Soars

The legion of websites, bloggers, talk show jocks, and the occasional GOP official that has teed off on President Obama and at times Michelle Obama with assorted borderline racist digs, taunts, and depictions have been relentless. The offensive remarks quickly evoke a storm of outrage, and the offender gets rebuked. This happens because they are public figures, and their comments are publicly aired. They fly high on the public's radar scope.

But that's not the case with the growing barrage of racist assaults on Obama, and other minorities on social media sites. Baylor University researchers, for instance, recently tracked more than 20 Facebook page groups and users and found them jam-packed with racist venom aimed at Obama, blacks and other minorities. The growing number of groups that churn hate on social media sites are secure in the knowledge that they won't be caught or called out on it.

The signal that Obama would trigger a titanic wave of race baiting and stereotyping danger in cyberspace came the moment that he announced he would seek the presidency in February 2007. He had the dubious distinction of being the earliest presidential contender to be assigned Secret Service protection on the campaign trail. As the showdown with Republican presidential rival John McCain heated up in the general election in 2008, the flood of crank, crackpot, and screwball threats that promised murder and mayhem toward Obama continued to pour in. This prompted the Secret Service to tighten security and take even more elaborate measures to ensure his safety. As president, the threats against Obama have been non-stop.

But the first real tip that hate could also find a safe haven on social media sites was the infamous Facebook assassination poll in September 2009. The target was Obama. Hundreds of respondents dignified the question that asked: "Should Obama be killed?" by answering. If the poll hadn't been quickly yanked, thousands more might have answered the bizarre and murderous question with an answer.

In the nearly three years since then, dozens of hate groups have popped up on Facebook. They have several things in common. Their prime target is Obama. They let fly with the most grotesque, offensive, and rabid hate depictions of the president, blacks and other minorities. Thousands of respondents chime in with their own racial haranguing broadsides. They have de facto protection from Facebook, not because Facebook condones or even turns a blind eye to racism on its site and by its users. It has a very strict policy to snatch any group from the site that makes racial, gender, religious, sexual orientation attacks against individuals or groups. But Facebook bases its existence and success on being a virtually, free and open social media platform.

Facebook permits, even takes pride, in letting individuals and groups to poke fun, level ridicule, and toss jibes at any and everything under the guise of humor or satire at others. It's the old free speech canard. Facebook's extreme reluctance to inhibit the free expression of ideas and opinions no matter how many persons may be offended at the humor or satire provides virtual open license for groups and individuals to spew racial hate. For example, in one posting Obama is depicted in hip hop garb with a bucket of chicken. In another, a grinning Obama has a bandanna on his head and a mouth full of gold teeth with the caption "Going for the African-American vote." The hate groups outwit the Facebook policy enforcers by avoiding use of the more blatant racial slurs and epithets. They use such neutral language as "Obama is a lousy president." They know that this will stir an avalanche of comments, many of which will be laced with racial slurs and propagate racial stereotypes.

The social media hate groups also are adept at using innocuous key words and race neutral titles to give the façade that their criticism of the White House has no hidden racial animus. Many innocent social media networkers stumble on the hate group pages and are appalled at what they see and read. But they are still exposed to the hate-mongering and that insures a wider audience.

Hate groups have honed in on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms to influence and even recruit others to their ranks. As the closely contested 2012 presidential election further heats up, more groups will skirt the social media censors and ratchet up their hate filled vitriol on their sites. They'll pawn it off as poking fun and satire at Obama, and minorities. And for the most part they'll get away with it.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. He is a frequent political commentator on MSNBC and a weekly co-host of the Al Sharpton Show on American Urban Radio Network. He is the author of How Obama Governed: The Year of Crisis and Challenge. He is an associate editor of New America Media. He is the host of the weekly Hutchinson Report on KPFK-Radio and the Pacifica Network.

Follow Earl Ofari Hutchinson on Twitter: www.twitter.com/earlhutchinson

Tea Party Rep: 'Chicago Is Crumbling Right Now'

In a recent interview taping, Tea Party-backed U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) had some choice words for the city of Chicago and Mayor Rahm Emanuel, whom he accused of "raiding" the suburbs in light of Motorola Mobility's recently-announced relocation from the suburbs to downtown Chicago.

Walsh told WBBM Newsradio that he believes the Chicago mayor is relying on contacts he developed during his White House years to "bring a few symbolic companies' employees into Chicago try to give the appearance that Chicago is on its way back," CBS Chicago reports.

"Chicago is crumbling right now because of these very same policies," the fiery congressman continued.

In response, a spokesperson for Tammy Duckworth, Walsh's Democratic challenger in Illinois' 8th Congressional District, criticized their opponent as not making job creation in his district a top priority, the Daily Herald reports.

"Congressman Walsh was the only Illinois member ' Democrat or Republican ' to vote against the job-creating transportation bill, so if he had gotten his way no one would have killed more Illinois jobs than Joe Walsh himself," Kaitlin Fahey, Duckworth's campaign manger, told the paper.

Motorola Mobility's move from suburban Libertyville, Ill. to the Merchandise Mart in downtown Chicago will bring some 3,000 employees -- about two-thirds of them engineers -- to downtown Chicago in summer 2013, the mayor's office announced, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Duckworth's campaign recently announced it had brought in almost $900,000 in the latest fundraising quarter, her strongest fundraising period to date. That news came on the heels of Walsh stirring up controversy when he criticized Duckworth for discussing her military service.

Meanwhile, the National Journal this month named Walsh's district as the third most likely to change parties this fall, bested only by districts currently represented by retiring congressmen.

The full Walsh interview will be aired on WBBM's "At Issue" Sunday at 9:30 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. CT.

Earlier on HuffPost:

• Lee Atwater: Smear Pioneer

  Negative campaigning has become more effective since 1828, though at times no less brutal. Many attribute this growing efficiency to the legacy of Republican strategist Lee Atwater. The former RNC chairman may have been best known as a driving force behind political ads such as the iconic <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io9KMSSEZ0Y" target="_hplink">Willie Horton commercial</a> against Michael Dukakis in 1988, but his past involvement in smear campaigns is much deeper. Slate <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/movies/2008/09/mr_wedge_issue.html" target="_hplink">reports</a> on Atwater's earlier career: <blockquote>In 1973, the 22-year-old protégé of South Carolina Sen. Strom Thurmond began his consulting career by publicizing the fact that Tom Turnipseed, a candidate for the state Senate, had undergone shock therapy as a young man: "They hooked him up to jumper cables" became the catchphrase that sunk Turnipseed's candidacy. Five years later, Atwater helped to defeat Max Heller, a Holocaust survivor running for U.S. Congress, by secretly enlisting a third candidate to enter the race and stir up anti-Semitic sentiment. Atwater finagled his way into a minor post in the Reagan administration, but it was as the director of George H.W. Bush's 1988 presidential campaign (and mastermind of the Willie Horton TV ads) that he found his true Machiavellian voice.</blockquote>

• The Wrong Jim Brady

  The potential perils of attack politics were on full display in 1996 when then-GOP Senate candidate Al Salvi attempted to knock down a high-profile endorsement given to his opponent, then-Rep. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), by former Ronald Reagan Press Secretary Jim Brady. Brady "used to sell" machine guns, Salvi alleged, a strong claim considering Brady's position as strong advocate for gun control and victim of a gunshot wound to the head during a failed assassination attempt on President Reagan in 1981. Salvi was wrong. "Turns out that was a different Jim Brady," a blushing Salvi was later <a href="http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1996-11-02/news/9611020079_1_o-malley-event-gun-control-assault-weapons" target="_hplink">forced to admit</a>. "I apologize." Salvi ended up losing to Durbin.

• Attacking A Triple-Amputee For Lack Of Courage

  In 2002, Saxby Chambliss, then a Georgia GOP congressman mounting a bid for U.S. Senate, released a controversial ad <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A58371-2004Sep28.html" target="_hplink">falsely accusing</a> then-Sen. Max Cleland (D), a triple-amputee Vietnam War veteran, of voting against the nation's national security interest. It placed Cleland next to images of Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein and suggested that the senator lacked "courage." Chambliss, who didn't serve in Vietnam because of a bad knee, drew widespread condemnation from Republican military veterans in the Senate such as Arizona Sen. John McCain and Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel. In a 2008 interview, Chambliss, who had eventually gone on to defeat Cleland six years earlier, <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2008/11/13/32286/chambliss-cleland-truthful/" target="_hplink">stood by his ad</a> as "truthful in every way."

• Jean Schmidt Blasts 'Cowards'

  Long before Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio) uttered <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/29/jean-schmidt-reacts-health-care-ruling_n_1638335.html" target="_hplink">shrieks of joy</a> because of false reports that the Supreme Court had ruled against Obamacare, she outraged colleagues on the House floor by suggesting that Vietnam veteran Rep. John Murtha (D-Penn.), was a "coward." In 2005, Schmidt addressed her colleagues in a House speech, <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2005/11/18/2603/schmidt-shame/" target="_hplink">relaying a message</a> from a Marine who she said had urged her to support an extension of the Iraq War. "He asked me to send Congress a message: Stay the course," she said. "He also asked me to send Congressman Murtha a message, that cowards cut and run, Marines never do. Danny and the rest of America and the world want the assurance from this body -- that we will see this through." She later returned to the House floor to have her remarks stricken from the record and to apologize to Murtha.

• RNC's Harold Ford Hit

  In 2006, the Republican National Committee set off bickering within and between political parties when it decided to air an ad in a Senate race between then-Rep. Harold Ford Jr. (D-Tenn.) and GOP candidate Bob Corker. The ad was chock-full of stereotypes and thinly-veiled racist undertones -- Ford is black. It drew widespread condemnation from both Democrats and Republicans, including Corker himself. Amid the flareup, RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15403071/ns/politics/t/tennessee-ad-ignites-internal-gop-squabbling/" target="_hplink">said he found nothing wrong</a> with the ad, but attempted to blame the content on a third party group. Corker eventually won the election.

• Palin's 'Palling Around With Terrorists'

  In the heat of the 2008 presidential election, vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin lofted a now-infamous charge, drawing immediate criticism from opponents who saw it as an attempt to brand then-candidate Barack Obama as un-American. Some even alleged that it was a racially charged character attack seeking to subtly link the supposed terrorist ties to prevalent right-wing conspiracy theories about Obama's so-called Muslim roots. The Associated Press <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/05/ap-palins-ayers-attack-ra_n_132008.html" target="_hplink">reports</a> on her comments: <blockquote>"Our opponent ... is someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect, imperfect enough, that he's palling around with terrorists who would target their own country," Palin told a group of donors in Englewood, Colo. A deliberate attempt to smear Obama, McCain's ticket-mate echoed the line at three separate events Saturday. "This is not a man who sees America like you and I see America," she said. "We see America as a force of good in this world. We see an America of exceptionalism."</blockquote>

• 'There Is No God'

  In 2008, a floundering Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.) released an ad attempting to accuse her opponent, Democrat Kay Hagan, of having mysterious ties to a group called Godless Americans. The entire ad struck many observers as a <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/29/dole-ad-fabricates-audio_n_138874.html" target="_hplink">desperate attempt</a> to regain momentum, but the brunt of the controversy came in the last few seconds, when a faceless voice rings out, yelling "there is no God." Many saw it as an attempt to paint the quote as Hagan's. It wasn't. In fact, Hagan was a Sunday School teacher who served as an elder at her Presbyterian church.

• Vintage Michele Bachmann

  Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) had a somewhat rapid ascent to her current status as darling of conservatives and the Tea Party faithful. It was accelerated in part by appearances such as this one in 2008, during which she called into question the "pro-America" views of the Obamas and various members of Congress. HuffPost's Sam Stein <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/17/gop-rep-channels-mccarthy_n_135735.html" target="_hplink">reported</a> at the time: <blockquote>In a television appearance that outraged Democrats are already describing as Joseph McCarthy politics, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann claimed on Friday that Barack Obama and his wife Michelle held anti-American views and couldn't be trusted in the White House. She even called for the major newspapers of the country to investigate other members of Congress to "find out if they are pro-America or anti-America." Appearing on MSNBC's Hardball, Bachmann went well off the reservation when it comes to leveling political charges against the Democratic nominee. "If we look at the collection of friends that Barack Obama has had in his life," she said, "it calls into question what Barack Obama's true beliefs and values and thoughts are. His attitudes, values, and beliefs with Jeremiah Wright on his view of the United States...is negative; Bill Ayers, his negative view of the United States. We have seen one friend after another call into question his judgment -- but also, what it is that Barack Obama really believes?"</blockquote>

• 'You Lie'

  Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) embodied a newly emerging brand of hyper-partisanship in 2009 when he <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/09/gop-rep-wilson-yells-out_n_281480.html" target="_hplink">interrupted</a> President Barack Obama's major speech on his health care reform package. "You lie!" Wilson yelled over Obama, who was explaining that the legislation would not mandate coverage for undocumented immigrants. Wilson's outburst drew disapproval from both sides of the aisle.

• 'Baby Killer'

  During the heat of the health care debate in 2010, Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas) added to the growing partisan discord when he <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/22/randy-neugebauer-revealed_n_508525.html" target="_hplink">shouted "baby killer"</a> at Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) while he was delivering a speech on the House floor. Stupak, an anti-abortion Democrat, had been under heavy fire from Republicans after crafting a deal with the White House in return for his and other Democrats' "yes" vote on the health care reform bill. The White House held up their end of the bargain with an executive order affirming that no taxpayer money would go to fund abortions.

• 'No Mosque'

  North Carolina GOP congressional candidate Renne Ellmers <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/23/renee-ellmers-gop-congres_n_735585.html" target="_hplink">raised some eyebrows</a> and gave her race national attention when she released an attack ad attempting to link her Democratic challenger to the controversial Park51 Islamic center. The ad was criticized for its apparent interchangeable use of the words "terrorists" and "Muslims," as well as the fact that Ellmers' opponent, incumbent Rep. Bob Etheridge (D) hadn't even weighed in on the issue yet. Ellmers didn't appear to do herself any favors in her <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/27/renee-ellmers-north-carol_n_740199.html" target="_hplink">attempts to explain the ad</a> during a contentious interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper, but she ended up winning in November after a late surge of momentum.

• Alan Grayson's 'Taliban Dan'

  Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) managed to give his opponent, Republican Dan Webster, a boost after he released an attack ad seeking to label Webster as "Taliban Dan." The spot featured selectively edited quotes from a 2009 Christian seminar that <a href="http://www.politifact.com/florida/article/2010/sep/28/fact-checking-alan-graysons-taliban-dan-webster-ad/" target="_hplink">misrepresented Webster's words</a> to suggest that he believed wives should submit to their husbands. Grayson had repeatedly enraged his Republican opponents with biting and at times over-the-top allegations. Comments such as his notorious charge that their health care plan was for Americans to "die quickly" had made him a top target for the GOP. He would lose his election to Webster.

• Scott Brown Pictures Stripped Elizabeth Warren

  Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) did himself no favors in the fall of 2011, when he returned a volley concerning his past nude modeling for <em>Cosmopolitan</em> magazine, a career choice that his Democratic opponent Elizabeth Warren had earlier jabbed at. HuffPost's Ryan Grim <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/06/scott-brown-elizabeth-warren-senate_n_998048.html" target="_hplink">reported</a>: <blockquote>"Have you officially responded to Elizabeth Warren's comment about how she didn't take her clothes off?" the host asked Brown Wednesday. "Thank God!" Brown said, laughing. The host got a kick out it, too. "That's what I said! I said, 'Look, can you blame a good-looking guy for wanting to, you know..."</blockquote> His opponents quickly <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2011/oct/06/news/la-pn-scott-brown-thank-god-20111006" target="_hplink">hit back</a>, claiming that the comments were sexist and "the kind of thing you would expect to hear in a frat house, not a race for U.S. Senate." <em><strong>Correction</strong>: A previous version of this text inaccurately identified Brown's party affiliation</em>

• 'Debbie Spend It Now'

  Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.) couldn't have picked a bigger stage to launch a now-notoriously insensitive ad against his Democratic opponent, incumbent Sen. Debbie Stabenow. In the middle of the Super Bowl, Hoekstra's campaign <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/06/pete-hoekstra-ad-china_n_1256791.html" target="_hplink">rolled out the spot</a>, which featured an Asian-American actress using stereotypically broken English to accuse Stabenow -- or "Spend-It-Now" -- of supporting U.S. government spending habits that benefitted the Chinese economy. The backlash was <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/06/pete-hoekstra-ad-china-michigan_n_1256912.html" target="_hplink">bipartisan</a> and <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/22/pete-hoekstra-polls-china-ad_n_1294221.html" target="_hplink">widespread</a>.

• Allen West

  Though only a freshman, Tea Party favorite Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) has already staked his political fame on inflammatory and controversial statements. His most well-known claim is now perhaps his contention that as many as 80 House Democrats are members of the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/11/allen-west-democrats-communist-party_n_1417279.html" target="_hplink">Communist Party</a>. His spokesperson later claimed that he was referring to members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Of course, that's just one of a catalogue of Allen West-isms. Click through the slideshow <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/19/allen-west-communists_n_1437517.html" target="_hplink">here</a> for a larger sampling.

• 'True Hero' Battle

  Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) began digging himself a hole in July when he <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/03/joe-walsh-tammy-duckworth_n_1646793.html" target="_hplink">suggested</a> that his Democratic opponent, triple-amputee Iraq War veteran Tammy Duckworth, was not a "true hero" because she spoke too frequently about her military service. In the followup, Walsh kept digging deeper on the Duckworth line, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/05/joe-walsh-tammy-duckworth_n_1650805.html" target="_hplink">claiming</a> that "all she does" is "talk about her service," instead of focusing on other issues. He <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/05/joe-walsh-ashleigh-banfield_n_1652236.html" target="_hplink">took a similar angle</a> in a subsequent interview, in which he managed to utter his interviewer's name more than 90 times.

Idaho Billboard Compares Obama To Aurora Shooting Suspect James Holmes

An electronic billboard in Caldwell, Idaho that compares President Obama to James Holmes, the 24-year-old man accused of killing 12 people in an Aurora, Colo., movie theater on July 20, has sparked outrage in the community, reports The Idaho Statesman.

The giant sign on Franklin Road and North 21st Avenue features a photo of Holmes with the words, "Kills 12 in a movie theater with assault rifle, everyone freaks out," written under his picture, juxtaposed to a photo of Obama with the words, "Kills thousands with foreign policy, wins Nobel Peace Prize," written below.

The billboard often features anti-Obama messages, and is sponsored by The Ralph Smeed Foundation, the supporters of the late activist for libertarian causes in Idaho. Foundation member and former state lawmaker Maurice Clements, told The Idaho Statesman the billboard is a response to Obama's 'broken promise' to bring home the troops.

"We're all outraged over that killing in Aurora, Colo., but we're not outraged over the boys killed in Afghanistan,' Clements explained to the paper, and added that he's not trying to connect Obama to Holmes, he's just comparing the way society reacts. "We're not saying that Obama is a lunatic,' he said.

Regardless of what the billboard is really comparing, the message is not going over well with the area's residents, who are outraged, calling it "offensive," "abhorrent," and "pathetic," reports NBC News.

"This billboard is offensive to all those lives lost and affected by the shooting," wrote Fabiola G. Monrroy on the Facebook page of KBOI-TV, which first reported the story. "Just pathetic, even if this is their expression of the 1st amendment."

Most of the messages on the TV station's Facebook page echo Monrroy's sentiment, and Canyon County Democratic Party communications director Judy Ferro, told the Idaho Press-Tribune that she believes that even the late Ralph Smeed would object to it. 'There's no factual basis to it at all ' it's just offensive," she explained.

PHOTO:

Also on HuffPost:

• Lee Atwater: Smear Pioneer

  Negative campaigning has become more effective since 1828, though at times no less brutal. Many attribute this growing efficiency to the legacy of Republican strategist Lee Atwater. The former RNC chairman may have been best known as a driving force behind political ads such as the iconic <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io9KMSSEZ0Y" target="_hplink">Willie Horton commercial</a> against Michael Dukakis in 1988, but his past involvement in smear campaigns is much deeper. Slate <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/movies/2008/09/mr_wedge_issue.html" target="_hplink">reports</a> on Atwater's earlier career: <blockquote>In 1973, the 22-year-old protégé of South Carolina Sen. Strom Thurmond began his consulting career by publicizing the fact that Tom Turnipseed, a candidate for the state Senate, had undergone shock therapy as a young man: "They hooked him up to jumper cables" became the catchphrase that sunk Turnipseed's candidacy. Five years later, Atwater helped to defeat Max Heller, a Holocaust survivor running for U.S. Congress, by secretly enlisting a third candidate to enter the race and stir up anti-Semitic sentiment. Atwater finagled his way into a minor post in the Reagan administration, but it was as the director of George H.W. Bush's 1988 presidential campaign (and mastermind of the Willie Horton TV ads) that he found his true Machiavellian voice.</blockquote>

• The Wrong Jim Brady

  The potential perils of attack politics were on full display in 1996 when then-GOP Senate candidate Al Salvi attempted to knock down a high-profile endorsement given to his opponent, then-Rep. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), by former Ronald Reagan Press Secretary Jim Brady. Brady "used to sell" machine guns, Salvi alleged, a strong claim considering Brady's position as strong advocate for gun control and victim of a gunshot wound to the head during a failed assassination attempt on President Reagan in 1981. Salvi was wrong. "Turns out that was a different Jim Brady," a blushing Salvi was later <a href="http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1996-11-02/news/9611020079_1_o-malley-event-gun-control-assault-weapons" target="_hplink">forced to admit</a>. "I apologize." Salvi ended up losing to Durbin.

• Attacking A Triple-Amputee For Lack Of Courage

  In 2002, Saxby Chambliss, then a Georgia GOP congressman mounting a bid for U.S. Senate, released a controversial ad <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A58371-2004Sep28.html" target="_hplink">falsely accusing</a> then-Sen. Max Cleland (D), a triple-amputee Vietnam War veteran, of voting against the nation's national security interest. It placed Cleland next to images of Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein and suggested that the senator lacked "courage." Chambliss, who didn't serve in Vietnam because of a bad knee, drew widespread condemnation from Republican military veterans in the Senate such as Arizona Sen. John McCain and Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel. In a 2008 interview, Chambliss, who had eventually gone on to defeat Cleland six years earlier, <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2008/11/13/32286/chambliss-cleland-truthful/" target="_hplink">stood by his ad</a> as "truthful in every way."

• Jean Schmidt Blasts 'Cowards'

  Long before Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio) uttered <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/29/jean-schmidt-reacts-health-care-ruling_n_1638335.html" target="_hplink">shrieks of joy</a> because of false reports that the Supreme Court had ruled against Obamacare, she outraged colleagues on the House floor by suggesting that Vietnam veteran Rep. John Murtha (D-Penn.), was a "coward." In 2005, Schmidt addressed her colleagues in a House speech, <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2005/11/18/2603/schmidt-shame/" target="_hplink">relaying a message</a> from a Marine who she said had urged her to support an extension of the Iraq War. "He asked me to send Congress a message: Stay the course," she said. "He also asked me to send Congressman Murtha a message, that cowards cut and run, Marines never do. Danny and the rest of America and the world want the assurance from this body -- that we will see this through." She later returned to the House floor to have her remarks stricken from the record and to apologize to Murtha.

• RNC's Harold Ford Hit

  In 2006, the Republican National Committee set off bickering within and between political parties when it decided to air an ad in a Senate race between then-Rep. Harold Ford Jr. (D-Tenn.) and GOP candidate Bob Corker. The ad was chock-full of stereotypes and thinly-veiled racist undertones -- Ford is black. It drew widespread condemnation from both Democrats and Republicans, including Corker himself. Amid the flareup, RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15403071/ns/politics/t/tennessee-ad-ignites-internal-gop-squabbling/" target="_hplink">said he found nothing wrong</a> with the ad, but attempted to blame the content on a third party group. Corker eventually won the election.

• Palin's 'Palling Around With Terrorists'

  In the heat of the 2008 presidential election, vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin lofted a now-infamous charge, drawing immediate criticism from opponents who saw it as an attempt to brand then-candidate Barack Obama as un-American. Some even alleged that it was a racially charged character attack seeking to subtly link the supposed terrorist ties to prevalent right-wing conspiracy theories about Obama's so-called Muslim roots. The Associated Press <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/05/ap-palins-ayers-attack-ra_n_132008.html" target="_hplink">reports</a> on her comments: <blockquote>"Our opponent ... is someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect, imperfect enough, that he's palling around with terrorists who would target their own country," Palin told a group of donors in Englewood, Colo. A deliberate attempt to smear Obama, McCain's ticket-mate echoed the line at three separate events Saturday. "This is not a man who sees America like you and I see America," she said. "We see America as a force of good in this world. We see an America of exceptionalism."</blockquote>

• 'There Is No God'

  In 2008, a floundering Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.) released an ad attempting to accuse her opponent, Democrat Kay Hagan, of having mysterious ties to a group called Godless Americans. The entire ad struck many observers as a <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/29/dole-ad-fabricates-audio_n_138874.html" target="_hplink">desperate attempt</a> to regain momentum, but the brunt of the controversy came in the last few seconds, when a faceless voice rings out, yelling "there is no God." Many saw it as an attempt to paint the quote as Hagan's. It wasn't. In fact, Hagan was a Sunday School teacher who served as an elder at her Presbyterian church.

• Vintage Michele Bachmann

  Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) had a somewhat rapid ascent to her current status as darling of conservatives and the Tea Party faithful. It was accelerated in part by appearances such as this one in 2008, during which she called into question the "pro-America" views of the Obamas and various members of Congress. HuffPost's Sam Stein <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/17/gop-rep-channels-mccarthy_n_135735.html" target="_hplink">reported</a> at the time: <blockquote>In a television appearance that outraged Democrats are already describing as Joseph McCarthy politics, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann claimed on Friday that Barack Obama and his wife Michelle held anti-American views and couldn't be trusted in the White House. She even called for the major newspapers of the country to investigate other members of Congress to "find out if they are pro-America or anti-America." Appearing on MSNBC's Hardball, Bachmann went well off the reservation when it comes to leveling political charges against the Democratic nominee. "If we look at the collection of friends that Barack Obama has had in his life," she said, "it calls into question what Barack Obama's true beliefs and values and thoughts are. His attitudes, values, and beliefs with Jeremiah Wright on his view of the United States...is negative; Bill Ayers, his negative view of the United States. We have seen one friend after another call into question his judgment -- but also, what it is that Barack Obama really believes?"</blockquote>

• 'You Lie'

  Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) embodied a newly emerging brand of hyper-partisanship in 2009 when he <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/09/gop-rep-wilson-yells-out_n_281480.html" target="_hplink">interrupted</a> President Barack Obama's major speech on his health care reform package. "You lie!" Wilson yelled over Obama, who was explaining that the legislation would not mandate coverage for undocumented immigrants. Wilson's outburst drew disapproval from both sides of the aisle.

• 'Baby Killer'

  During the heat of the health care debate in 2010, Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas) added to the growing partisan discord when he <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/22/randy-neugebauer-revealed_n_508525.html" target="_hplink">shouted "baby killer"</a> at Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) while he was delivering a speech on the House floor. Stupak, an anti-abortion Democrat, had been under heavy fire from Republicans after crafting a deal with the White House in return for his and other Democrats' "yes" vote on the health care reform bill. The White House held up their end of the bargain with an executive order affirming that no taxpayer money would go to fund abortions.

• 'No Mosque'

  North Carolina GOP congressional candidate Renne Ellmers <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/23/renee-ellmers-gop-congres_n_735585.html" target="_hplink">raised some eyebrows</a> and gave her race national attention when she released an attack ad attempting to link her Democratic challenger to the controversial Park51 Islamic center. The ad was criticized for its apparent interchangeable use of the words "terrorists" and "Muslims," as well as the fact that Ellmers' opponent, incumbent Rep. Bob Etheridge (D) hadn't even weighed in on the issue yet. Ellmers didn't appear to do herself any favors in her <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/27/renee-ellmers-north-carol_n_740199.html" target="_hplink">attempts to explain the ad</a> during a contentious interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper, but she ended up winning in November after a late surge of momentum.

• Alan Grayson's 'Taliban Dan'

  Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) managed to give his opponent, Republican Dan Webster, a boost after he released an attack ad seeking to label Webster as "Taliban Dan." The spot featured selectively edited quotes from a 2009 Christian seminar that <a href="http://www.politifact.com/florida/article/2010/sep/28/fact-checking-alan-graysons-taliban-dan-webster-ad/" target="_hplink">misrepresented Webster's words</a> to suggest that he believed wives should submit to their husbands. Grayson had repeatedly enraged his Republican opponents with biting and at times over-the-top allegations. Comments such as his notorious charge that their health care plan was for Americans to "die quickly" had made him a top target for the GOP. He would lose his election to Webster.

• Scott Brown Pictures Stripped Elizabeth Warren

  Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) did himself no favors in the fall of 2011, when he returned a volley concerning his past nude modeling for <em>Cosmopolitan</em> magazine, a career choice that his Democratic opponent Elizabeth Warren had earlier jabbed at. HuffPost's Ryan Grim <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/06/scott-brown-elizabeth-warren-senate_n_998048.html" target="_hplink">reported</a>: <blockquote>"Have you officially responded to Elizabeth Warren's comment about how she didn't take her clothes off?" the host asked Brown Wednesday. "Thank God!" Brown said, laughing. The host got a kick out it, too. "That's what I said! I said, 'Look, can you blame a good-looking guy for wanting to, you know..."</blockquote> His opponents quickly <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2011/oct/06/news/la-pn-scott-brown-thank-god-20111006" target="_hplink">hit back</a>, claiming that the comments were sexist and "the kind of thing you would expect to hear in a frat house, not a race for U.S. Senate."

• 'Debbie Spend It Now'

  Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.) couldn't have picked a bigger stage to launch a now-notoriously insensitive ad against his Democratic opponent, incumbent Sen. Debbie Stabenow. In the middle of the Super Bowl, Hoekstra's campaign <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/06/pete-hoekstra-ad-china_n_1256791.html" target="_hplink">rolled out the spot</a>, which featured an Asian-American actress using stereotypically broken English to accuse Stabenow -- or "Spend-It-Now" -- of supporting U.S. government spending habits that benefitted the Chinese economy. The backlash was <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/06/pete-hoekstra-ad-china-michigan_n_1256912.html" target="_hplink">bipartisan</a> and <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/22/pete-hoekstra-polls-china-ad_n_1294221.html" target="_hplink">widespread</a>.

• Allen West

  Though only a freshman, Tea Party favorite Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) has already staked his political fame on inflammatory and controversial statements. His most well-known claim is now perhaps his contention that as many as 80 House Democrats are members of the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/11/allen-west-democrats-communist-party_n_1417279.html" target="_hplink">Communist Party</a>. His spokesperson later claimed that he was referring to members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Of course, that's just one of a catalogue of Allen West-isms. Click through the slideshow <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/19/allen-west-communists_n_1437517.html" target="_hplink">here</a> for a larger sampling.

• 'True Hero' Battle

  Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) began digging himself a hole in July when he <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/03/joe-walsh-tammy-duckworth_n_1646793.html" target="_hplink">suggested</a> that his Democratic opponent, triple-amputee Iraq War veteran Tammy Duckworth, was not a "true hero" because she spoke too frequently about her military service. In the followup, Walsh kept digging deeper on the Duckworth line, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/05/joe-walsh-tammy-duckworth_n_1650805.html" target="_hplink">claiming</a> that "all she does" is "talk about her service," instead of focusing on other issues. He <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/05/joe-walsh-ashleigh-banfield_n_1652236.html" target="_hplink">took a similar angle</a> in a subsequent interview, in which he managed to utter his interviewer's name more than 90 times.

Horrifying Photos From Inside U.S. Funded Military Hospital Emerge (WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT)

An explosive Congressional investigation revealed horrific new details this week about a U.S. funded military hospital in Afghanistan that kept patients in "Auschwitz-like" conditions.

The investigation also revealed that Lt. General William B. Caldwell, then commander of the $11.2 billion dollar a year Afghan training program, tried to block the probe and ordered a cover-up.

Read the whole story at www.buzzfeed.com

SHOCK: A Huge Blow To SF Gay Rights

The Vatican dealt a huge blow to the Bay Area's fight for gay rights on Friday, naming Salvatore Cordileone--one of the California's leading opponents of same-sex marriage and a creator of Proposition 8--the Archbishop of San Francisco.

Cordileone has served as the bishop of Oakland since 2009. In a Vatican announcement on Friday morning, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Cordileone to his new post across the Bay.

"I am pleased to welcome Archbishop-elect Cordileone," said the departing Archbishop George Niederauer during the announcement. "And to assure him of our prayers, loyalty, support and cooperation, as well as our friendship and affection."

(SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO)

Cordileone will officially take his post on October 4. As Archbishop, he will oversee bishops in San Francisco, Santa Rosa, Sacramento, Reno, Oakland, Stockton, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Reno and Salt Lake City.

Cordileone made headlines in 2008 when he helped draft Proposition 8, calling same-sex marriage "a plot by the evil one" to destroy the world during a radio interview. According to ABC, he personally donated at least $6,000 to the 2008 ban, and is currently the chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage.

His appointment to the San Francisco position came as a surprise and immediately drew controversy from the gay community.

"This isn't a marriage made in heaven," said state assemblyman Tom Ammiano to the San Francisco Chronicle. Ammiano represents San Francisco and is gay.

The Huffington Post contacted Most Holy Redeemer Church, a parish in the Castro known for its inclusive community, for a statement. Father Brian Costello, the pastor at the parish, said that the church did not yet have a comment, but that he would be sharing a few words about the appointment at Sunday mass.

Watch CBS's video on Salvatore Cordileone's appointment below:

For-Profit College Executives Paid On Profit, Not Student Success

Top executives at major for-profit colleges take in millions of dollars in annual compensation -- primarily from taxpayer subsidies -' yet most of their pay is unrelated to student achievement, according to preliminary findings from a congressional investigation.

The report from Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform committee, found that publicly traded college corporations calculate executive compensation "predominantly on the profitability of their companies rather than the success of their students."

"This is especially troubling given the billions of taxpayer dollars flowing into these institutions and the serious financial risks to students who go through these programs," the report concluded.

For-profit colleges receive much of their revenues from federal financial aid: student loans, Pell grants and military educational benefits. Yet students often fare poorly, dropping out in large numbers and defaulting on federal loans at double the rate of their counterparts at public institutions.

Cummings sent letters in December to 13 for-profit college corporations, seeking information on how the quality of education and student performance are tied to what he termed "lavish" executive pay at the schools. Chief executive officers at several for-profit education companies take in much more than presidents at some of the most prestigious U.S. private universities.

Todd S. Nelson, the former chief executive and now chairman of Education Management Corp., the nation's second-largest operator of for-profit colleges, took in more than $13.1 million last year. The highest-paid Ivy League president, Richard C. Levin of Yale University, received $1.6 million in compensation, according to tax filings.

In a preliminary report sent to Democratic members of the House Oversight and Government Reform committee on Friday, congressional staff found that "the single most significant measure for determining executive compensation at these schools is corporate profitability, including factors such as operating income, earnings, profits, operating margins, earnings per share, net cash flow, and revenue."

The report found that 10 of the 13 companies considered profitability for at least 70 percent of executive pay. The other three companies did not provide enough information to determine how student success factored into executive pay, according to the report.

For-profit colleges have increased revenues over the years by rapidly expanding their enrollments. From 1999 to 2009, the number of students attending for-profit colleges more than tripled, far outpacing the growth of traditional higher education, which grew by a fifth, according to an analysis of federal data from the Education Trust, a student advocacy group.

Although about 12 percent of college students nationwide attend for-profit schools, the sector is responsible for more than 45 percent of federal loan defaults.

In many cases, companies had executive compensation documents that made only "vague references" to student performance and "failed to indicate the specific extent to which these measures affect executive compensation," the report said.

At Career Education Corp., which owns the Le Cordon Bleu chain of culinary schools, 75 percent of executives' bonus pay was based on meeting profit goals, according to the report. The remaining 25 percent of executive compensation was based on "individual executive performance factors."

There were several optional criteria to determine an executive's performance at the company, including student graduation rates and career placement rates. But the company provided no details on whether those student performance goals were actually considered, according to the congressional report.

Nonetheless, all executives at the company reached 100 percent of their individual goals in 2010, the report found. Last year, the chief executive of Career Education Corp., Gary McCullough, resigned after an internal investigation found that the employees were artificially inflating job placement rates at some health and arts programs to remain in good standing with college accreditors -' and continue to be eligible for federal aid dollars.

A spokesman for Career Education Corp., Mark Spencer, acknowledged that the company used such a compensation plan for senior executives in the past. The company updated its compensation plan this year, he said -- a plan that now ties 66 percent of senior executives' potential compensation to student-focused goals unrelated to "any financial performance objective." The plan has not been released publicly.

A spokeswoman for DeVry Inc., Jennifer Dooley, wrote in an e-mail that "our first obligation is to our students, and our shareholders understand this." She continued: "They know that only by focusing on serving our students, and on delivering value over the long term, will we ensure our economic viability."

Representatives from 11 other companies mentioned in the report did not respond to requests for comment Friday.

UPDATE: 10:23 p.m. -- This article has been updated to include comment from a Career Education Corp. spokesman.

Chris Weigant: Friday Talking Points -- Going For The Gold

In a surprise announcement today, the International Olympic Committee has filed a lawsuit against Mitt Romney and his entire family. Not, as some might have expected, for his recent comments about the London Olympics, but rather because Mitt has been using the term "Romney Olympics" to describe a summer festival held at his palatial vacation home, up to and including this year. The I.O.C. is famously protective of the term "Olympics" and who is allowed to use it, and according to their press release, they are merely protecting their brand. No word on what financial penalty the I.O.C. will be seeking, as an I.O.C. spokesperson told us, "We're going to have to subpoena Mitt's tax returns before we can answer that." He also added, "Mitt's dancing horse will be disqualified from the dressage event, as well."

Well, not really. That whole previous paragraph was not in any way true. But one can dream, right?

I should warn everyone, if you're already sick of Olympic-themed nonsense, then you might want to skip this week's column, because that pretty much sums the whole thing up. That's right, we're going for the gold this week!

But before we get to the rest of this nonsense, we've got our own actual awards to hand out.

 

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid actually got something done this week. In doing so, he may have even faked out Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, which (if true) would be an even more impressive feat than just getting a bill passed.

Democrats in the Senate put together a bill which will extend the Bush tax cuts for everyone. The news media, who are infamously bad at math, missed this fact. But under the Democrats' plan, every taxpayer will pay less in taxes than if the Bush tax cuts were allowed to expire -- even those making over $250,000. Because everyone's income up to that point will be taxed less -- whether you make more than the threshold or not. People who do make more than the threshold will not get a bonus tax cut on the money they make over $250,000, but they will enjoy the same tax break everyone else gets for the money they make up to that point. Meaning everyone will get a tax cut (no matter what the mainstream media says about it).

Republicans, of course, are holding everyone else's tax cut hostage, until the wealthiest get their bonus tax cut for money they make above $250,000. So they had a bill of their own, too.

Neither bill would have gotten an actual vote, due to filibuster rules, until Harry Reid offered McConnell a deal -- neither side would filibuster the other's bill, and both bills would get an up-or-down vote. McConnell reportedly thought that Reid didn't even have the votes to pass the Democratic bill, so he agreed to the plan. Vice President Joe Biden showed up for the vote, just in case he needed to cast a tie-breaking vote.

In the end, though, it was not necessary. Reid was better at counting Democratic votes than McConnell, and the Democratic bill passed while the Republican bill failed.

Now, you can say this is all "just politics," since the House is not likely to pass the Democratic bill that made it through the Senate, and likely won't do anything until after the election is over. But it's good politics for Reid, and good politics for Democrats. This is how you pressure Republicans on an issue -- by putting your own plan out there, getting it through the Senate, and then talking about the "obstructionist Republican House" every chance you get. You also might want to throw in "Republicans just voted against a middle-class tax cut!" just for good measure. Oh, and don't forget: "This is a tax cut for everyone!"

For making it happen, Harry Reid is our Most Impressive Democrat Of The Week. Way to go, Harry! Well done.

[Congratulate Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on his Senate contact page, to let him know you appreciate his efforts.]

 

You know, it'll be a sad day around Friday Talking Points headquarters when we won't have Joe Lieberman to kick around in the MDDOTW segment anymore. Well, no, actually, it'll be a happy joyous day when we see Lieberman slinking out of the Capitol for the last time, to be quite honest.

Before we get to Lieberman, though, we've got to at least hand out a (Dis-)Honorable Mention to Senator Dianne Feinstein, for stating she knew that the White House leaked classified information to the press. She appeared shocked that Republicans then turned around and started using this politically against the president. Even if Feinstein was right, how did she get this information? Sitting on a Senate committee listening to classified briefings? This would mean that DiFi was doing exactly the same thing she was accusing the White House of doing by leaking this information to the press. Any way you look at it, it would have been better if DiFi had just kept her mouth shut.

This week we have two Most Disappointing Democrat Of The Week awards to hand out, to Senator Joe Lieberman and to Senator Jim Webb, both of whom voted against the Democratic bill. Both men knew that this bill isn't going to become law without significant tinkering, and both men knew that passing the bill this week will give Democrats across the country an issue to campaign hard on from now until November. Knowing that, they both voted against it anyway.

We've come to expect such behavior from Lieberman, but from Jim Webb? Sigh. For almost sinking the Democrats' bill, both men fully deserve their Most Disappointing Democrat Of The Week awards this week.

[Contact Senator Joe Lieberman on his Senate contact page and Senator Jim Webb on his Senate contact page, to let them know what you think of their actions.]

 

Volume 220 (7/27/12)

OK, with our awards out of the way, let's get on to our Olympics talking points!

What's that? A phone call? From the I.O.C.? Hang on a minute....

Well, we've just been informed that we're being sued for using the word "Olympics" in today's column. Our crack legal team informs us, however, that since we are holding no sporting competition ourselves and are merely exercising our First Amendment rights in creating satire, that we are under no obligation to obey this cease-and-desist order.

Heh. Well, no, not really. This whole column is getting sillier and sillier, so we're just going to let it all hang out in today's talking points. I really tried to write cutting remarks for the first few of these, but then about halfway through I just got a fit of the giggles and launched off into a sheer flight of fantasy. So don't say I didn't warn you.

 

   Can't even handle Britain

"Mitt Romney stumbled badly on his first attempt at foreign policy. How hard is it to restrain yourself from badmouthing a foreign country while currently in that country? Romney couldn't have even waited until after he left? And he wants to represent America on the world stage? What's going to happen when Romney says something stupid and insulting while in a country that doesn't have a "special relationship" with America? I mean, seriously, Romney can't even handle Britain, so how is he going to handle other countries abroad? Romney certainly has won the gold in the foot-in-mouth race, winning by a mile, before the Olympics even began."

 

   Middle of nowhere

Mitt Romney made things worse today, in responding to the gibe that the Olympics he held were "in the middle of nowhere." When I called Mitt up just now (ahem) to ask him about the insult, he responded:

"The middle of nowhere? Really? I would like to remind everyone that Salt Lake City was the world capital of bribery and graft for the 2002 Olympics. The city showed no shame in buying votes from the I.O.C. in order to win their Olympic bid. Middle of nowhere? Salt Lake City was the gold medalist of corruption back then!"

 

   Gold medal bailout

Sick of the "gold medal" metaphor yet? We aren't even halfway done!

"Mitt Romney says he 'saved' the 2002 Olympics. What he never talks about is exactly how he saved those Olympics. Romney lobbied Washington hard, for every pork barrel dollar he could pry from the American taxpayers to avoid a fiasco in Salt Lake City. Mitt did so well as a lobbyist, he got over a billion dollars from the federal government for the Olympics. Yeah, it's pretty easy to 'save' the Olympics when you get the gold medal for lobbying, isn't it? For all Mitt's talk about the 'private sector' you know what saved his bacon? A big fat federal government bailout. I guess bailouts are good when they help your friends out, right Mitt?"

 

   Made in Burma

"One more thing about the Salt Lake City Olympics. You know, there was a news story about the U.S. team's uniforms being made in China this year. But back in 2002, Mitt Romney was in charge of getting uniforms for the torch bearers, and he didn't go to China to get them made. You know why? Because he got them from Burma. That's right -- Mitt went shopping in one of the worst countries in the world on human rights, so that proud Americans carrying the Olympic torch would be wearing outfits made by a brutal military dictatorship. So I really don't want to hear Mitt say a word about the Chinese-made uniforms this year, because even that is better than wearing clothes tagged 'Made in Burma'."

 

   Romney Olympics

"This just in! Mitt Romney has settled the lawsuit the International Olympic Committee slapped him with earlier today, after ignoring a judge's order to produce his tax forms. Under the terms of this agreement, instead of being barred from using the term 'Romney Olympics' for his family's summertime fun, Mitt Romney will in fact be purchasing the Olympic Games from the I.O.C. That's right -- the international sporting event will be known from this point on as the 'Romney Olympics' no matter where on Earth they are staged. Per the settlement, the alternative phrase 'Romneylympics' will also be permitted. Mitt Romney, upon announcing this news, stated that from now on he'll have to call his family fun the 'Mitt Olympics' to avoid confusion."

 

   Gold?

"Coming to you live, from the 2012 Romney Olympics here in London, we have some strange news to report -- athletes who have won their events are reporting that the 'gold' medals they received are not, in fact, made of gold. One world champion showed us that the medals are nothing more than cheap tin, spray-painted a gold-ish color. As he scratches off the gold paint, you can clearly see the dark metal underneath, and if you scratch enough of it off, the words 'Made in Syria' can easily be seen. Mitt Romney was unavailable for comment, as he was last seen boarding a plane to Switzerland with rather large and heavy suitcases. When asked why he was flying to an unscheduled stop in Switzerland, Romney smiled and said he was 'just going to visit my money while I'm in Europe, it's no big deal.' "

 

   You people

"We're here at the Romneylympics for the presentation of the gold medal in dressage, which -- after a financial scandal involving the judges -- has been awarded to the horse owned by Mitt Romney's wife. Ann Romney, when asked about the scandal after a visit to the Queen, said 'You people have seen all the financial information you are going to see. The Queen and I feel quite the same way about this situation. We are not amused.' "

 

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Art Markman, Ph.D.: Why Do Americans Accept Wealth Inequality?

Over the past two years, there has been a significant political debate in the United States about the distribution of wealth. Statistics suggest that in 2007, the richest 1% of the population controlled about 35% of the wealth in the US, and that the top 20% controlled about 85% of the wealth.

People who approve of this distribution in wealth typically argue that the wealthiest Americans have earned their money through hard work and individual effort and that their business practices, spending patterns, and investments ultimately improve the quality of life for everyone. Those who disapprove of this distribution argue that government and social policies helped the wealthiest Americans to develop their wealth. They typically support policies that would redistribute wealth by levying higher taxes on the richest Americans and using that money for policies that would support people with fewer resources.

It is clear that many Americans who are not in wealthiest 20% support policies that maintain the inequality in the distribution of wealth. Over the past fifteen years, tax rates have been cut across the board and attempts to increase tax rates on the wealthiest 1 to 2% of Americans have been blocked. The politicians who have blocked these tax increases have been re-elected. Clearly, many people are voting for these candidates, suggesting that there is broad support for the current inequality in wealth.

Why is that?

This question was explored in an interesting paper by Krishna Savani and Anneta Rattan in the July 2012 issue of Psychological Science. They conducted six studies suggesting that when Americans focus on the concept of individual choice, they become more accepting of inequalities in wealth.

All of their studies were done using Amazon's Mechanical Turk, which is an on-line system for collecting data. Using this system allowed the researchers to get participants with a distribution of ages, political affiliations, and ethnicity.

In one study, participants watched a video of a person going about a set of daily activities. In the control condition, people pressed a button every time the person touched an object. In the choice condition, people pressed a button every time they believed the person made a choice. Afterward, participants were given 10 statistics about the distribution of wealth in the United States (like the fact that the wealthiest 20% of Americans own 85% of the wealth) and were asked to rate how disturbed they were by these facts.

As you might expect, people who identified themselves as liberals were more disturbed by these facts than people who identified themselves as conservatives. Interestingly, people who perceived themselves to be relatively upper-class were more disturbed by these facts than those who perceived themselves to be relatively lower-class. Women were more disturbed than men. People who identified as White were more disturbed than those who identified as non-White. After controlling statistically for all of these factors, though, people who were primed to think about choices were less disturbed by these facts than people who were not.

Two other studies in this series are also interesting.

One experiment looked at people's beliefs about whether the success of wealthy people is caused primarily by their own individual effort or whether that success was aided by society and government policies. People primed to think about choice were more likely to endorse that the success of wealthy people is driven more by their individual effort than by society or the government.

A second experiment looked at whether people approved of policies that would redistribute wealth from the richest Americans to poorer Americans. Those primed to think about choice looked less favorably on policies that would redistribute wealth than those who were not. Interestingly, participants were also asked about government policies that would aid everyone equally. Those who were primed with choice were still in favor of government programs that would help everyone. Thus, thinking about individual choice did not simply reduce people's interest in government programs in general.

The concept of individual choice is a core value for Americans. We are deep believers that people should have individual freedoms and that individual effort allows people to make their way in society. An interesting side-effect of this belief, though, is our acceptance of significant inequalities in wealth. It looks like this acceptance arises because our beliefs about individual choice focus us on the role that individuals play in their own success and de-emphasize the role that society and government play in success.

Follow Art Markman, Ph.D. on Twitter: www.twitter.com/abmarkman