Campaign 2016

Schmuckraker James O’Keefe Resurfaces With Pathetic Hillary Clinton Smear

Posted by on September 1, 2015 at 6:55 pm. 5 Comments :

Last month Hillary Clinton’s campaign busted an attempted infiltration by the scumbags at James O’Keefe’s Project Veritas. The exposure of O’Keefe’s scam was reported by Clinton staff to Time, complete with evidence of the would-be fraud. You might think that after having been revealed and held up to ridicule the deceivers at Project Veritas would back off and lick their wounds. But no.

James O'Keefe

Devoid of any semblance of shame, O’Keefe just released a video (posted below) produced during the failed infiltration. He contends that he has caught the Clinton campaign accepting donations that are prohibited by law. The only problem with his allegations is that they are not proven to be true by his pitiful video antics.

O’Keefe’s flunkies approached a booth that was selling campaign swag at the site where Clinton announced the launch of her campaign for the Democratic nomination for president last June. He says that while there his “journalist” met a Canadian woman who wanted to by a couple of items, which is prohibited by law because the purchases are donations to the campaign and can only be made by U.S. citizens. In the course of the transaction, O’Keefe’s flunky offered to buy the items for the Canadian woman and the transaction was completed. This is what O’Keefe is now alleging is an epic violation of campaign laws and proof of incorrigible criminality by Clinton (who wasn’t even there). Thank goodness O’Keefe was there to uncover a potentially fraudulent sale of a t-shirt that could very well alter the course of America’s democracy.

More to the point, if any law was broken it was by O’Keefe’s flunky. The campaign is seen in the video advising the Canadian that they cannot sell her anything, just as the law requires. So when the O’Keefee undertook to make the purchase for her, she was the one that allegedly committed a crime. It is unlawful to make a donation in the name of another person who is not legally permitted to make a donation themselves. However, it is not a crime for the person selling swag to accept payment from a valid U.S. citizen, which is what happened.

O’Keefe maintains that he and his flunky did not know the Canadian woman. However, given his history of shameless dishonesty, it would be naive to take his word for that. Especially since the events suggest otherwise. For instance, as soon as the Clinton staffer told her she could not buy the items, O’Keefe’s flunky stepped in to support her and tried to persuade the staff to make the sale. Was it just a coincidence that she was standing next to a Canadian? And why was she there recording it if they weren’t in on this scheme together? If this wasn’t her project, what was? Their partnership was sealed when they agreed to let the O’Keefee buy the items herself.

What’s more, the Canadian made an odd, off-hand threat when denied the sale saying that “When I go back to Canada I will talking about this.” Who would say such thing unless they were involved in the con and attempting to get a rise from their victim? For more proof of collusion, consider how O’Keefe says in the video that “It didn’t take long for these campaign staffers to think they had found a way to skirt the law and take the Canadian woman’s money.” But, as shown in the video, it was the Canadian woman who suggested that the flunky buy the items, not any of the Clinton staffers. That seems a little like it was planned and then blamed on the staff.

The media isn’t taking O’Keefe seriously. At a press conference this morning one reporter asked O’Keefe incredulously “Is this a joke?” In further questioning O’Keefe actually admitted that it was his group that broke the law. He also admitted that the actual amount of the transaction was $30-40.00. That’s significant because the video shows a staffer saying “So it’ll be a total of $75.00.” That’s proof that he edited the video to insert the completion of an entirely different transaction and passing it off as the one with the Canadian woman. That’s typical of his operation where he deliberately edits his videos to produce false representations of what took place.

The whole affair is ridiculous. The notion that a piddling sale of $30.00 is being elevated to some kind of massive campaign corruption scandal is absurd. It would never be prosecuted even if something illegal was done here by the Clinton staffers, which it wasn’t. The only crimes committed were by O’Keefe & Company. And to top it off, O’Keefe’s director of communications at Project Veritas, Daniel Pollack, told the Washington Post that…

“Had [O’Keefe’s flunky] not been there the Canadian woman very well might have asked nicely, and they would have said, ‘sure.’ We don’t know what course this would have taken had our journalist not been there.”

That’s actually a good point. Pollack is conceding that, but for O’Keefe’s interference, who knows what would have happened. Probably nothing at all, because it was the O’Keefee and the Canadian who concocted and carried out the crime. The staffers were clear that no sale would be made to a non-citizen. There is no evidence whatsoever to assume that they would simply have changed their minds. And if O’Keefe’s flunky were actually a “journalist,” she would have kept her mouth shut and waited to see what would happen, and Pollack wouldn’t have to wonder. Instead, she tried to manipulate the situation into a controversy that wasn’t going that way prior to her interference.

But of course, she is an activist, and a dishonest one at that. And the only evidence needed to prove that is that she works for O’Keefe who has been convicted of crimes committed during these phony stings. He also has the distinction of having his work labeled “political disinformation” by Special Prosecutors in Texas. Yes, Texas. And he is still producing political disinformation. Except now even fewer people are paying him any attention. Even Fox News hasn’t touched this one.

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Donald Trump: Women Are Gossipy Hens Who Can’t Be Trusted With Classified Info

Posted by on August 31, 2015 at 8:35 pm. 14 Comments :

The Republican Party’s current (and cringeworthy) front-runner for the nomination for president, Donald Trump, is infamous for his repugnant views on women. His openly derisive rhetoric is so notorious that he was even questioned about it by Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly in the first GOP primary debate. Following that exchange Trump actually ended up providing more evidence of his misogyny by singling out Kelly, the only woman debate moderator, for despicable criticism and insults.

Donald Trump Perv

Apparently, that wasn’t a sufficient demonstration of hostility toward women, so Trump is upping the ante with a new line of attack aimed at Hillary Clinton and her long-time aide, Huma Abedin. In remarks yesterday to his glassy-eyed disciples, Trump assumed his characteristic schoolyard bully stance to level charges against Abedin that were purely slanderous and without any factual basis whatsoever.

Trump: “Huma Abedin is married to a bad guy. Anthony Weiner is one of great sleazebags of our time. So Huma is getting classified secrets, she’s married to Anthony Weiner, who’s a perv. If you think that Huma isn’t telling Anthony, who she’s probably desperately in love with, in all fairness to Anthony, because why else would she marry this guy? Do you think there’s even a 5% chance she’s not telling Anthony Weiner, now of a public relations firm, what the hell is coming across?”

First of all, for Trump to assail Anthony Weiner, or anybody else, as a “sleazebag” takes a boatload of chutzpah. After all, Weiner was only guilty of sexting online and was never unfaithful to his wife, to whom he is still married. Trump, on the other hand, has cheated on his multiple spouses and even been accused of rape by one of them. And in an appearance on The View he said that if Ivanka were not his daughter “perhaps I would be dating her.” A perv who lusts after his own daughter and betrays his marital oath ought not to be calling other people names.

More importantly, the truly offensive part of Trump’s comment is the assertion that Abedin is incapable of conducting herself as a professional. Simply because she is a woman Trump believes that she would disclose classified information to her husband in violation of the law and the ethical requirements of her position. Because obviously, in his view, women cannot be trusted in sensitive jobs due to their biological compulsion to gossip.

This raises some interesting questions. Does he also believe that the women in the Bush administration were leaking secrets to their spouses? Is he disqualifying Carly Fiorina, or any other woman, from serving in government because she represents a security risk? Would Trump make the same charge against a man in a similar position? And if so, is he admitting that he would blab state secrets to his current wife Melania?

This was not a flip remark by Trump. When he made it originally he also asked the women in his audience to confirm his opinion. When a women in the crowd said that she would not reveal classified info to her husband, Trump shouted back contemptuously “You would,” in effect calling her a liar who would put national security at risk because of her unsuitability for the job and the inherent flaws of her gender. Remember, that was one of his supporters. And to seal the deal, Trump tweeted the same insult to Abedin this morning that he made in his speech yesterday.

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Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
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It is really mind-boggling that any women, or men who respect them, would cast a vote for this neanderthal. But even worse, the other women and men in the GOP have been completely silent about this rebuke. Fiorina has not mentioned it. Nor has Trump’s BFF, and self-anointed Mama Grizzly, Sarah Palin. None of the other candidates seem to be disturbed by the suggestion that all women are gabby turncoats who would sellout their country for some good pillow talk. Which proves again that Trump is not a problem for the Republican Party. He IS the Republican Party. And his noxious ideas will remain a core part of their agenda even after his inevitable flame out.

Be Afraid: Following Trump Focus Group, Fox News Word Doctor’s ‘Legs Are Shaking’

Posted by on August 25, 2015 at 7:37 pm. 3 Comments :

There is a palpable fear within the Republican Party that is directly attributable to the alleged popularity of their resident loudmouth blowhard and racist demagogue, Donald Trump. The fact that Trump’s offensive reality show antics has dominated the GOP primary, effectively suppressing the media presence of every other candidate, is causing the party regulars to tremble at the notion that he might actually have a shot at the nomination (he doesn’t).

Donald Trump

While their fear of Trump prevailing in the primaries is largely unfounded, they are right to be mortified by what Trump’s success with some Republican voters means to the party and its prospects in the general election next fall. He is cementing the party’s reputation as antagonistic to minorities and political moderates, but even worse, he is appealing to an ignorance that is rampant on the right.

To illustrate the frightful attitudes of Trump’s supporters, Fox News “Word Doctor” Frank Luntz conducted a focus group to find out what drew them to the cartoon-brained billionaire. The results painted a picture of a community of dunces who have mistaken being vulgar and obnoxious for straight talk. After listening to the group, Luntz, who Trump has called a “a low class slob,” told the assembled reporters that…

“You guys understand how significant this is? This is real. I’m having trouble processing it. Like, my legs are shaking. I want to put the Republican leadership behind this mirror and let them see. They need to wake up. They don’t realize how the grassroots have abandoned them. Donald Trump is punishment to a Republican elite that wasn’t listening to their grassroots.”

What a load of bull. If Republicans have anything to fear it is the Frankenstein monster of their own making. If they need to wake up it is from the nightmare doomsday scenarios that they have been promulgating for the last seven years that portrayed President Obama as a dictator who would destroy the economy, confiscate their guns, outlaw Christianity, and declare the country the new capital of the Global Islamic Caliphate.

The grassroots of the GOP didn’t abandon the party. They were shuffled into a Tea Party subdivision that has been whining about exactly the same things that Trump’s supporters are whining about. In fact, Trump has assumed the mantle of Tea Party leadership that Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck and others tried and failed to assume. He isn’t punishment for not listening, he is the manifestation of having listened and taken their idiotic yammering seriously. Some of the reasons given by the group for supporting Trump were indistinguishable from the bellyaching of the Tea Party. For instance…

  • “I think America is pissed. Trump’s the first person that came out and voiced exactly what everybody’s been saying all along.”
  • “When Trump talks, it may not be presented in a pristine, PC way, but we’ve been having that crap pushed to us for the past 40 years.”
  • “I used to sleep on my front porch with the door wide open, and now everyone has deadbolts. I believe the best days of the country are behind us.”
  • “I’m frustrated beyond belief. I feel like I’ve been lied to. Nothing’s getting better.”
    “We know his goal is to make America great again. It’s on his hat.”
  • “We’ve got to show the Republicans that we’ve had it with them, that we will not be there every single time. They treat us like crap and they lie to us and promise us things and then they expect us to vote again.”
  • “He’s not afraid. He keeps prodding on even if people give him negative press. He doesn’t change and apologize.”

These cretins are articulating a cacophony of contempt for America. They are inconsolable that it doesn’t resemble the fantasy they have of the white, Christian, utopia they think they were promised by God who wrote the Constitution. What’s more, they are achingly stupid. They blindly repeat the mantra that Trump is expressing what they feel, but Trump hasn’t offered any actual policies that address any real problems, so how do they know? Well, they know because it’s written on his hat. So there.

The responses from this focus group are not unique. Last month John Heilemann of Bloomberg News assembled a focus group that felt pretty much the same way. What’s interesting about this is that the character traits for which they praise Trump would be considered abhorrent if they came from Obama. If the President was described as speaking for people who were “pissed,” who thought America’s best days are behind us, didn’t care about negative press, and refused to apologize, these same Trumpbaggers would holler at the top of their lungs about what an arrogant, unpatriotic, egotistical, fascist he is.

It isn’t Trump they like. It’s the undisguised hatred and bigotry aimed at the real objects of their disgust. That begins with our African-American President and extends to all progressive sectors of society including Latinos, women, union members, teachers, scientists, and an array of diverse spiritual and secular citizens. It is not surprising that Trump’s most staunch supporters are America’s white supremacists, who regard him as the champion of disaffected whites. Although Trump espouses a platform that is identical to that of every other Republican candidate, his supporters prefer him because the others aren’t as crude or as perceivably filled with hate.

So these focus groups serve a valuable purpose in exposing Trump’s followers as the hostile and ignorant swine that they are. And to the extent that other Republican candidates, voters, and media fail to renounce it, they are just as bad. That’s what should be making Mr. Luntz’s legs shake.

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The Hysterical List Of GOP Candidates Proposed By America’s Worst Pundit

Posted by on August 24, 2015 at 6:44 pm. 3 Comments :

If there is one thing that the candidacy of Donald Trump has taught us, it’s that the current batch of Republican candidates is a sorry collection of losers. After all, if they can’t beat a cheesy, egomaniacal, reality TV star like Trump, how can they take on Vladimir Putin?

Bill Kristol

Trump’s domination of the Republican primary is an indictment against the entire field. Candidates like Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, and Chris Christie were supposed to be governors with the sort of leadership experience that would command respect and support. Upstarts like Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, and Marco Rubio were expected to fire up the conservative base. Instead, they are all gasping for air as Trump’s media-infused marketing blitz leaves them in the dust. And the consequences of his racist diatribes and appeal to rank ignorance will only weigh down the eventual nominee after Trump flames out.

That scenario was depressing enough to one of the GOP’s chief pundits that he set out to identify alternatives to the current roster of pending duds. Bill Kristol authored a column for his Weekly Standard that pitched the names that he believes can redeem the faltering fortunes of the party. And if the failures presently in the running weren’t depressing enough, just wait until you get a load of Kristol’s proposed saviors.

Leading off is former governor of Indiana, and Director of George W. Bush’s Office of Management and Budget (something I would leave off of my resume), Mitch Daniels. If he were a contestant on “So You Think You Can Bore The Sh*t Out Of Everyone” he would be shoe in. Why Kristol thinks this human sedative would have a chance of lapping the current field is unfathomable. But then Kristol offers up another numbers nerd with an equal absence of charisma, Rep. Paul Ryan. Ryan, of course, already demonstrated his inability to appeal to a national electorate as the running mate of Mitt Romney.

Assuming those were Kristol’s heavy hitters, he continued with his list of party savers by suggesting three congressmen that he says are “young but tested leaders:” Jim Jordan, Trey Gowdy and Mike Pompeo. Setting aside that about 99% of the country hasn’t heard of any of them, if they had they would not be especially impressed. The only one with any notable role in public life is Gowdy, who chairs the Congressional Committee on Politicizing Benghazi. And like all of the other committees that have investigated the subject, he has found nothing that points to any wrongdoing by President Obama or anyone in his administration. It’s just another waste of time and money that keeps Congress from doing anything useful.

Perhaps the most curious person on Kristol’s list is Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito. Here is someone without a smidgen of government experience or aptitude. He is considered to be one of the most ultra-conservative justices ever to sit on the high court. An Alito candidacy would only appeal to hardcore rightists and Tea Partiers who comprise a small minority of the population.

Kristol is a well known flop as a pundit and is frequently referred to as Bill “Always Wrong” Kristol. Rachel Maddow did an informative segment last year (video below) that enumerated his lengthy list of failed political predictions. They include such classic favorites as insisting that the war in Iraq would only last a couple of months, and his rabid advocacy of Sarah Palin to be John McCain’s running mate, with whom he would be assured victory. The sole positive purpose of his existence on Earth is to be used as signal for what NOT to do politically.

Therefore, the Republican Party should be grateful for the list of proposed candidates that Kristol has provided. And if they are smart (which I wouldn’t bet on) they will immediately cross those names off of any lists they are making themselves. Then again, it’s not like they could do any worse than what they have now. Maybe they should just throw caution to the wind and nominate Zombie Ronald Reagan or Rush Limbaugh with Ted Nugent as VP.

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Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
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Did James O’Keefe Send His Goons To Smear The Hillary Clinton Campaign?

Posted by on August 22, 2015 at 11:00 pm. 5 Comments :

Conservative muckrakers have been very busy lately producing deceptive videos that deliberately slander Democrats and progressive organizations. It has become their favorite method of spreading malicious lies via dishonest editing and unsupported allegations. Most notably of late are the videos that falsely portray Planned Parenthood as engaging in various unlawful practices.

Fox News James O'Keefe

The technique was famously employed by serial liar James O’Keefe when he produced videos wherein he pretended to be a pimp in order to damage the reputation of ACORN, a philanthropic organization that helps the poor obtain housing and register to vote. Although the videos were proven to be political disinformation, they resulted in ACORN losing funding and eventually shutting down. Later O’Keefe was sued by a former ACORN staffer and was ordered to pay $100,000 judgment for his libel. On subsequent projects O’Keefe was caught trying to seduce a CNN reporter, cast illegal votes, and tamper with the phones of a United States senator. For that offense O’Keefe was arrested and eventually pleaded guilty after his felonies were bargained down to misdemeanors.

So it was just a matter of time before this craven tactic was aimed at the campaign of a prominent Democrat running for high office. Time is reporting that…

“Hillary Clinton’s campaign offices around the country have been put on alert after at least two women approached Iowa staff under the guise of being supporters in an apparent effort to catch the campaign engaging in improper or illegal activity, a Clinton campaign official said.”

As described by Time, the modus operandi is typical of methods used by O’Keefe and company. There are even photos of some of the con artists sent to scam the Clinton campaign. One woman in the photos is a known operative who has worked with O’Keefe in the past. Time further reported the account of the attempted scam given by Clinton’s spokesperson:

“A Clinton campaign official alleges that the women engaged in several efforts to entrap supporters. In one scheme, described by Clinton staff, a woman attempted to pass a cash donation to Clinton volunteers and interns. In another, a woman approached the campaign on Aug. 19 and said both her parents had donated to Clinton the legal maximum of $2700 each and wanted to funnel an additional donation through their daughter, a violation of federal law. On Aug. 13, a woman claiming to be Canadian approached another Clinton fellow to ask how to falsify an address for a campaign donation.”

At this time it appears that the political dirty trickery failed. But just the fact that these cretins are out there trying to pull off their hoaxes is troubling. The possibility of a naive campaign volunteer getting fooled or being subjected to a video manipulation that casts them in a negative light is always a risk. Not that it proves any wrongdoing by the campaign, but it takes time and effort to debunk the lies and some people (e.g. Fox News viewers) will believe them no matter how ridiculous.

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Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
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And that’s pretty much the point. They know that they can have a deleterious effect even if exposed as crooks. Let’s hope the Clinton campaign, and every other potential target of these charlatans, remains vigilant and wards off their attempted scams.

Hillary Clinton’s Fox News Problem

Posted by on August 21, 2015 at 11:13 pm. 5 Comments :

This evening on Fox News Shannon Bream, filling in for Megyn Kelly, did a segment about how dismal Hillary Clinton’s future is now that her poll numbers have descended to unfathomable depths, particularly with regard to favorability.

Hillary Clinton Favorability

Like much of the rest of Fox’s recent coverage of Clinton, the impression made is that Clinton has about three weeks before she will drop out of the race and report to prison. To open the segment Bream gleefully reported that…

“A new poll now showing Clinton may be more disliked than she has been in decades. As a brand new survey from CNN shows her unfavorability rating is now at a whopping 53%. A number that Clinton has seen just one other time in twenty-three years of polling.”

What the “fair and balanced” propagandists at Fox are leaving out is that Clinton’s favorable rating in the CNN poll that they referenced is better than all of the Republicans that were polled. Clinton scored 44% favorable. That compares to Donald Trump at 36% and Jeb Bush at 34%. What’s more, Clinton’s unfavorable rating is lower than her most likely opponents. She pulled 53% while Trump and Bush were higher at 59% and 56% respectively.

Clinton has had the honor of being ranked as the most admired woman in the world nineteen times in Gallup’s annual survey. She received that honor the last thirteen years in a row. It is not particularly surprising that in an election year where seventeen Republican candidates are bashing her relentlessly her public image might suffer. Add to that the effect of the smear job that Fox engages in every day and it would be a miracle if her numbers didn’t decline a bit.

Notwithstanding those assaults, Clinton is still faring better than her GOP rivals who have had very little mud thrown at them. She is still beating them in head-to-head match-ups. And her support in the Democratic Party is unwavering.

What Fox News is trying to do is project their open disgust for her in the hopes that it will harm her electoral prospects next year. That’s also why they keep promoting Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden. They obviously hate them just as much as they hate her, but for the time being they are happy to use them as wedges to create chaos for the Democrats.

News Corpse Presents: The ALL NEW 2nd volume of
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

If Clinton’s 53% unfavorable rating can be characterized as “whopping” by Fox News, then what would they call Trump’s 59% or Bush’s 56%? Of course the answer is that they wouldn’t call it anything at all because they wouldn’t devote a segment of a primetime program to their “favorability problems.” In the Fox world everyone loves Republicans and they always will win every election. At least that’s how they present it to their dimwitted audience who are later shocked when they lose.

Trump Says His Supporters Who Beat Homeless Latino Man ‘Love This Country’

Posted by on August 20, 2015 at 3:48 pm. 5 Comments :

There is an unshakably nauseating streak of hatred that permeates Donald Trump and the Republican Party. It seems that every day more proof of it is provided without hesitation or shame. The latest examples were included in Trump’s remarks yesterday in New Hampshire and began with his insistence on using a term that is widely known to be an offensive epithet.

Tom Llamas of ABC News asked Trump about his use of the term “anchor babies.” The term refers to the alleged practice of immigrants entering the U.S. illegally in order to give birth to children who could then sponsor the parents for legal residency and citizenship. However, it is an entirely bogus notion because a citizen has to be twenty-one before they can sponsor a family member. So for this scheme to work the parents would have to wait twenty-one years for the child to grow up and then another ten years as punishment for having entered the country illegally to have the baby. That means it would take thirty-one years for the parents to be eligible for residency and another five years after that before they could apply for citizenship.

Nevertheless, Trump not only used the term, but stood by it defiantly when told of its derogatory meaning.

Llamas: Are you aware that the term ‘anchor baby,’ that’s an offensive term?
Trump: Excuse me! I’ll use the word anchor baby!

This isn’t any different than being told that the phrase “tar baby” or the “N” word is derogatory but ignoring the warning and using it anyway. The larger point that Trump was making was to affirm his opposition to birthright citizenship, a 150 year old provision of the Constitution (14th Amendment) that Trump thinks won’t hold up in court. And following his ignorant and racist comments, at least four of his GOP colleagues (Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Bobby Jindal, and Ted Cruz) joined in the immigrant bashing fully agreeing with Trump’s position.

Making matters worse, a couple of brothers in Boston were arrested for assaulting a homeless Latino man. When questioned by the police about their motives they said that “Trump inspired them.”

Donald Trump

This is a predictable result of the kind of hostile rhetoric that Trump and other right-wing haters use. Under ordinary circumstances it might not be fair to hold Trump accountable for this violence, even though it is something he could have anticipated because it has happened before. What makes Trump liable in this case is his reaction upon learning of the incident. As reported by the Associated Press (and posted on Fox News Latino, but not Fox News), Trump said that it would be a shame and added…

“I will say that people who are following me are very passionate. They love this country, and they want this country to be great again.”

WTF? So Trump regards the thugs who viciously assaulted an innocent Latino man as passionate patriots who love their country. And for all he knows the victim was actually a citizen, In Trump’s view they were just trying to “make America great again.” And he must know that giving that kind of praise and public tribute to violent racists can only encourage more of the same.

This is worse than any of the idiotic statements Trump has made yet. It is deliberately inciting bigots to engage in violence. And it tells us exactly what Trump means by “great” when regurgitating his campaign slogan. Furthermore, it tells us what his party and his GOP rivals think when they fail to repudiate these remarks. And mostly it tells us what Fox News and Republican voters believe, because they are the ones propping up the Trump candidacy and its open embrace of savagery and prejudice. That’s something they have to own even after Trump’s campaign inevitably crashes and burns.

Sunday Funnies: Recently Uncovered Video Of Donald Trump’s Childhood

Posted by on August 16, 2015 at 2:16 pm. 3 Comments :

Donald Trump, the media-designated front-runner for the Republican nomination for president, is said to have attained this status due to his straight talk and authentic style of connecting with GOP voters. Of course, Trump’s alleged lead is a myth that is exacerbated by shallow punditry and the media hunger for ratings.

Donald Trump

Trump has never led more than a small flock of GOP loonies, with 75-80% of poll respondents choosing other candidates. And he has consistently had the highest unfavorables of any candidate, Republican or Democratic. The only reason that Trump is ahead of his rivals now is that there are so many of them. When the roster is whittled down the remaining candidates will all be beating Trump.

As for his so-called plain speaking appeal, Jack Shafer at Politico put Trump’s rhetoric through the Flesch-Kincaid test where Trump scored at the third grade level. That’s probably still somewhat higher than most of his Tea-vangelical supporters. And despite his compulsion to repeatedly remind everyone how smart he is (something actual smart people never need to do), his public utterances invariably contradict him. This morning, for example, Chuck Todd asked Trump from whom he would get advice on the military were he president. Trump said that “I watch the shows,” referring to the Sunday morning news programs in the same way that fans of soap operas refer to their “stories.” He’s still in Reality TV mode.

Nevertheless, with so much of the media spotlight being cast on Trump, it is important to put his life in context. Particularly with regard to his early childhood development that reveals with stark clarity how he came to be the person he is today. As the son of privilege, little Donny was pampered and fawned over by his wealthy parents who set him up in business and eventually bequeathed him a couple hundred million dollars (which his poor business skills squandered). And to further flesh out Trump’s formative years, News Corpse acquired this exclusive video of a young Don expressing himself in much the same way that he does today.

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The resemblance is obvious. And it doesn’t take much effort to chart the path from Trump’s greedy Narcissism as a juvenile to the political hogwash he espouses now. What’s more, those positions – from immigration, to taxes, to Iraq/Iran, to reproductive rights, to marriage equality, to Climate Change, to guns, to health care – are completely in line with with the Republican Party that he represents. So even when he is ultimately laughed off the stage, the GOP regulars will soldier on with the same agenda, albeit somewhat less foolishly articulated (not much, but somewhat).

Jeb Bush Thinks Taking Out Saddam Hussein Was ‘A Pretty Good Deal’

Posted by on August 14, 2015 at 4:06 pm. 3 Comments :

One of the biggest drawbacks of having a world-class ignoramus like Donald Trump in the running for the Republican nomination for president is that he consumes the media’s capacity for stupid pronouncements. After all, there are sixteen other candidates working hard to say idiotic things every day and they don’t get nearly as much attention as Trump. For instance, Jeb Bush appeared today at a campaign event in Iowa and told the few people listening that…

“I’ll tell you, taking out Saddam Hussein turned out to be a pretty good deal.”

Jeb Bush - Saddam

Really? A good deal for whom? Certainly it was a good deal for the defense contractors who sponsored the ill-advised invasion (and the event at which Bush was speaking). And it was a good deal for the neo-cons who soaked the feds for cushy government jobs and sold books to readers of WorldNetDaily. But most of all it was a good deal for Al Qaeda and ISIS and Iran, who are the biggest beneficiaries of a destabilized Iraq and the general chaos throughout the region.

However, it was not such a good deal for the 4,000 plus American soldiers who died fighting a war of aggression whose justification was built on lies. It was not such a good deal for the 32,000 plus Americans wounded and who are now suffering with physical disabilities, brain damage, and PTSD. The estimated 150,000 plus Iraqi civilians who died for no reason probably don’t think it was such a good deal either.

For Jeb! to suggest that there was anything positive about an unlawful war that brought so much misery tells us just how unfit he is to lead this nation. But for him to pick out the deposing of Saddam as his choice for what made the war “a good deal” is simply deranged. If that was their goal it could have easily been accomplished for much less money and loss of life. Does Jeb! really think that spending two trillion dollars to knock off Saddam was a display of fiscal responsibility? If that’s his idea of a good deal, someone should ask him what WE got out of it.

This latest Bushism (yes, it runs in the family) follows closely remarks he made this week blaming Hillary Clinton for the mess in the Middle East. His perverse logic relies on absolving his brother George of any responsibility for the utter disaster he created. And it was an entirely predictable disaster. But Jeb! contends that President Obama and Clinton are to blame for adhering to the Status of Forces Agreement that was negotiated and signed by George W. Plus, this is the fourth or fifth position Jeb! has taken on whether the Iraq war was justified. After first saying that he would have approved the invasion, even knowing what we know today, he later recanted saying that he had misheard the question and insisted that with hindsight he would not have ordered the invasion. And yet, this boondoggle that he would not have ordered is still a good deal?

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Jeb!’s solution this go-round appears to be to continue a full military deployment in Iraq indefinitely, incurring and suffering more fatalities with no end in sight. Presumably, that would make it an even better deal in his eyes. The obvious absurdity of this position could have a crippling effect on his campaign. Fortunately for him, few people will ever know that he said this bit of lunacy (It has yet to be reported on Fox News). That’s the benefit of having Trump around to act as a human gaffe shield, protecting the other candidates from their own crackpottery.

Donald Trump Is NOT Wildly Popular And Is Nothing Like Bernie Sanders

Posted by on August 13, 2015 at 4:20 pm. 5 Comments :

This campaign season is witnessing some of the most shallow analyses of the political landscape to ever be spun by the Perpetually Erroneous Pundit Squad. The constant repetition in the media of the non-existent dominance of Donald Trump’s phony candidacy is boxing out any rational examination of the progress of the primaries. But it is all as ephemeral as a soap bubble and just as easily burst.

Sideshow Donald Trump

Since the Fox News GOP debate, Trump’s standing in the polls has actually declined. He is still leading the other Republican contestants, but by smaller margins. And throughout what has been characterized as a phenomenon, Trump has never garnered the support of more than a small percentage of the electorate. For the most part, Trump has held a lead with about 20-25% of just the Republican voters in the polls. What most pundits fail to notice is that that means there are 75-80% of Republicans who are not supporting him. Since when is that an expression of massive, grassroots popularity? What’s more, he has consistently had the highest unfavorables of any candidate, Republican or Democratic.

The only reason that Trump is ahead of his rivals now is that there are so many of them. The sheer quantity of non-Trump candidates disperses voters so that none of them can accumulate enough support to rise above the batshit insane constituency that Trump has managed to sew up. Once the field begins to narrow, support will migrate to the stronger candidates who have the endurance to last beyond a couple of primaries. When there are only two or three other candidates they will all be beating Trump, if he is even still in the race.

The press likes to inject explanations for Trump’s fake acclaim that generally takes the position that the American people are angry and that Trump’s barbarian persona appeals to those malcontents. However, the public is no more angry than in past election cycles that have seen the rise of protest candidates like Ross Perot and Ralph Nader and, more recently, the annoying and ignorant bitchiness of the Tea Party. And like Trump, they have all failed to ignite more than the same small contingent of kvetchers. It is the same crowd who cling to the belief that Obama is the anti-Christ.

Adding to the journalistic malpractice that characterizes the Trump coverage, is the suggestion that Bernie Sanders is the progressive version of Trump. What unadulterated bull. Trump actually is an angry, visionless loudmouth who attracts the blind devotion of the dimwitted rabble who are equally irate. Sanders, on the other hand, isn’t angry, he’s passionate. He is offering a positive agenda of detailed policy proposals on the economy, social justice, foreign affairs, the environment, Social Security, and health care. That’s the difference between Sanders, an affirmative reformer, and Trump, an opportunistic blowhard. And Sanders has also proven that he has the sort of broad-based support that Trump has never been able to muster, even after receiving millions of dollars worth of free airtime on Fox News. In recent polls Sanders is beating Trump head-to-head by twenty points.

News Corpse Presents: The ALL NEW 2nd volume of
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

The foregoing notwithstanding, we can expect the media to continue their pitifully hollow presentations of current events. The question is whether they are doing it because they are too lame to figure out the obvious reasons for what is unfolding, or because they are addicted to the ratings they enjoy when they play along with the hype of a celebrity candidacy. If they were honest they would just start pushing for a “Draft Kim Kardashian” movement and quit pretending that Trump’s campaign is anything different.