I was delighted (an understatement) to see Rachel Maddow on Thursday night jump into coverage of ACORN — finally — by highlighting so much of what we’ve been reporting here, sometimes completely alone, for years!
She details the facts about the GOP’s long-waged phony war against the right’s “most reliable trumped-up boogeyman” (using language akin to that in my recent article in the UK’s Guardian on the recent rightwing hit job on ACORN and the Democrats’ pathetic capitulation to it). Maddow goes on to note the corporate mainstream media’s gullibility in “reporting” the wingnuts’ out-and-out lies about the group while failing, miserably, for years, to note the truth.
The truth, of course, is that ACORN is responsible for registering millions of legal low and middle-income citizens (read: Democratic-leaning, as the GOP sees them) to vote. The truth is that when they find potentially fraudulent voter registration forms submitted by a handful of their 13,000 employees, it is they who alert authorities about the fraud, and turn both the forms (as required by law), and the workers who defrauded them in to officials so they can be investigated. The truth is that there is not a single recorded instance of voter fraud committed by any illegally registered voters via ACORN. Not one.
“The more that I look into the misleading nature of the charges against ACORN,” Maddow notes, “not just from people from whom I expect misleading charges, but from reporters and people in the mainstream media who ought to know better, the angrier I get. … And I think we’re going to cover the lies about ACORN over a number of shows in the upcoming days.” THANK YOU RACHEL!!!
Her report follows on a new study, “Manipulating the Public Agenda: Why ACORN Was in the News, and What the News Got Wrong,” just out from Occidental College and the University of Northern Iowa, detailing, as she describes it, “the embarrassing extent to which the media has gotten the ACORN story really really wrong.” (I’ve yet to read the report, but am looking forward to it!)
I can’t recommend this video enough. And, as Maddow promises to continue her coverage on this story, let’s hope she’ll take a serious look at snake-oil salesman Thor Hearne, his direct connections to Karl Rove and the Bush White House, and the unconscionable astroturf group, American Center for Voting Rights (ACVR), which The BRAD BLOG outed years ago and has been covering ever since. ACVR, of course, was the phony tax-exempt “non-partisan” organization set up after the 2004 election to lead the disinformation campaign against ACORN and disenfranchise legal voters by issuing propaganda meant to fool Americans into instituting unconstitutional photo ID requirements at the polling place, despite the fact that some 20-30 million legal U.S. voters — largely Democratic-leaning voters — are likely to be disenfranchised in the process!
Yes, Rachel, “this story gets [us] mad” too! Has for years! Please give me a shout if I can help. Got some swell stuff I’ve never reported on this that I’d be happy to share with you! Would be delighted to!
CORRECTION: Thanks to alert reader “TM,” we had originally noted that ACVR was formed after the 2000 election. We should have said after the 2004 election, when Hearne first appeared to give testimony to then-Rep. Bob Ney’s House Administrative committee, as the only supposed “voting rights” group called to testify in the only Congressional hearing convened following the election, to supposedly discuss its many problems. Hearne represented himself only as a “long-time voting rights advocate” at the hearing, failing to note to the committee, or for the record, that he had been the national general counsel for Bush/Cheney ’04 Inc. The “non-partisan” ACVR was formed by Hearne and former RNC communications director Jim Dyke, who would later go on to work in Dick Cheney’s office, and now represents various Republican candidates. Other than that, they were completely non-partisan. Oh, and they never disclosed whom they received nearly $1 million dollars from when they initially started up. See BradBlog.com/ACVR for much more in our years-long coverage of these anti-democracy bamboozlers.
UPDATE 9/28/09: The second report in Maddow’s must-see series is now posted here…
Rachel ripped. Saw that King asshole live today. I was flipping my lid. Somehow the Republicans are not willing to hold the people responsible for re writing torture laws and implementing “enhanced techniques’ or holding those who created and disseminated false pre-war intelligence..thousands dead, injured milions displaced.
No the Rethugs want to investigate Acorn because they do not have any Democrats blowjobs to investigate.. twisted twisted priorities
Now if we could only get Rachel to WHIPSER SOMETHING ABOUT THE GOLDSTONE UN REPORT.
Or ask some logical questions about what Obama had to say about Iran today. Like does Iran have to report to the IAEA when construction is taking place. Or where is that intelligence that they were referring to from? Come on the MSM is rolling over again.
ask some tough logical questions please. Remember the run up to Iraq..”g”
MSNBC: the “anti-FOX” network!
Big Dan – That implies they are the opposite of Fox “News”, which is not accurate. At least in as much as Fox is the Republican News Channel (RNC), whereas MSNBC, while leaning progressive, when they’re not running three hours of Joe Scarborough, for example, actually report *news*, no matter whose ox gets gored. They beat up on Dems and Reps alike, as merited.
That does NOT happen on the RNC, which is little more than an out and out propaganda arm of the actual RNC!
I’m reading the university’s report, and one theme continues to present itself…
The use, by so much of the media today, of Political operatives, as if they were expert witnesses.
It’s not just Fox, CNN is a blatant perpetrator of these lies too.
Presenting Karl Rove or Donna Brazille as if they were experts on Health Insurance reform is a disservice to ALL Americans.
WTF America? Since when is a politician or political hit person a freakin expert? On ANYTHING?
The Washington Post is now reporting about another corruption story; ACORN apparently funneled taxpayer dollars into political campaigns. It just keeps snow-balling.
Rachel is genius on this story. However, let’s not get all carried away. She and Olberman were told to lay off Obama by their corporate masters. Starting on about January 22, Rachel was going after O (in the same way she did towards Bush) for the immediate breaking of campaign promises — hiring lobbyists one after another, the not-so-transparent stuff, the signing statements, etc. About end of February or so, it abruptly stopped and she rarely says a word against the O. I never watch Keith so I have no personal observations of his show. Rachel does the best she can within the constraints of the corporate media.
Why don’t you link it Damail?
I did a Wapo search for “acorn” and “acorn corruption” – it turned up nothing I could corrolate with Damail’s post.
Here’s the link, SR:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/24/AR2009092404249.html
ACORN hit is by Grassleys office with the help of Doug Giles, they’re trying to tie this to O.
The Clinton Blow Job redux for 2010 because they have nothing else.
Halliburton was paid in one day what ACORN was funded during its entire existence.
Oh, and Giles,and most likely OKeefe are grads of the famous Leadership Institute…oh yeah.
Got it backwards, OKeefe is a grad, Giles most likely.
Another thought…so if they are grads of an “institute” that prides itself on suppressing voter turnout, what would be the motive for going after ACORN? We know the answer to that, don’t we. 😉
Please, as in all MSM reports there’s a little truth and a lot of misleading and outright lies.
Acorn does some good work, it also is run like a criminal organization with many flaws.
Maybe its my total distrust of MSM that makes me bias to accepting anything it puts forth, but this argument seems like it simply perpetuates the Helegian Dialect to a tee.
… Brad Friedman said on 9/25/2009 @ 7:11 pm PT…
Big Dan – That implies they are the opposite of Fox “News”, which is not accurate. At least in as much as Fox is the Republican News Channel (RNC), whereas MSNBC, while leaning progressive, when they’re not running three hours of Joe Scarborough, for example, actually report *news*, no matter whose ox gets gored. They beat up on Dems and Reps alike, as merited.
That does NOT happen on the RNC, which is little more than an out and out propaganda arm of the actual RNC!
I stand corrected. I agree with you.
You know what… The voter registration thing is correct. But let’s be blunt. When you have a fake pimp and fake prostitute show up and on video your team shows how to work around taxes, you’re fucked. Fucked AND mismanaged.
COMMENT #5 [Permalink]
… Damail said on 9/25/2009 @ 9:58 pm PT…
The Washington Post is now reporting about another corruption story; ACORN apparently funneled taxpayer dollars into political campaigns. It just keeps snow-balling.
“Senator Grassley made up his mind, and he didn’t bother about the facts,” Lewis said in an interview. “He’s dealing with a lot of outdated information and decided to frame it with a predetermined conclusion. Yes, we had problems under Wade Rathke. . . . And we have been overhauling how we do things ever since.”
Damail: just wondering…what do you think of the government’s reaction to the G20 protests vs. the Teabaggers?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qhLcw8N04A&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X12G4DJ0mas&feature=player_embedded
What could be the reason for the difference?
Teabaggers bring automatic assault weapons and nothing happens to them.
The real anti-fascist protesters get kidnapped into cars by the military, gassed, sound-waved, roughed up, etc…
Care to venture a guess on why this difference? Or any rightwingers here?
Could it be: one protest is a controlled pro-corporation “protest”, and one is REAL people protesting fascism?
The GOVERNMENT REACTIONS tell ME which protest is REAL and which is “staged”.
Why aren’t the Teabaggers at the G20 protesting fascism? Because Dick Armey and Freedom Works didn’t bus them in and tell them to?
Damail: here’s what’s ironic: you complain about the “liberal media bias” all the time…and then you link to the (supposedly) liberal Washington Post who are AGAIN all over ACORN!!! And is the “liberal” Washington Post all over the G20 government fascism?
(actually, 99 linked to it…but still, it’s the “liberal” Washington Post all over ACORN again, and not exposing the G20 fascism)
Let’s see on Monday, how the “liberal” ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, NYTIMES, WAPO cover the G20 government fascism, and how they contrast it to the Teabaggers being allowed to have assault automatic weapons and nothing happening to them.
Let’s REALLY pay attention to this: EVERYONE!!!!!!
The “official” govt statement of the military-clad kidnappers:
Officials with G20 security released the following statement to Raw Story and other media outlets:
Story continues below…
“Military members supporting the G20 Summit work with local law enforcement authorities but do not have the authority to make arrests. The individuals involved in the 9/24/09 arrest which has appeared online are law enforcement officers from a multi-agency tactical response team assigned to the security operations for the G20. It is not unusual for tactical team members to wear camouflaged fatigues. The type of fatigues the officers wear designates their unit affiliation.
Prior to the arrest, the officers observed this subject vandalizing a local business. Due to the hostile nature of the crowd, officer safety and the safety of the person under arrest, the subject was immediately removed from the area.â€
NOW…I’m not a lawyer, so someone can chime in here….
…but, can ANYONE connected to the government grab and throw someone in a fucking car and drive off???
Any lawyers here?
So, ME or YOU…we can be walking down the street…and guys clad in military uniforms (sound like the MILITARY, right?) can GRAB you and THROW YOU IN A CAR!!! AND DRIVE OFF WITH YOU!!!
…and THEN say: “…but we can’t arrest you, we’re following the law. We can KIDNAP you without charges, Miranda rights, etc…but we’re following the law because we didn’t arrest you!” (paraphrased by me)
DAMAIL could be kidnapped like that! Right, Damail?
Brad Friedman:
Your coverage of the Sibel Edmonds story has been nothing short of great, another example would be the Mike Connell story.
That being said, you lose credibilty claiming that MSNBC ddoes ‘actually report *news*, no matter whose ox gets gored. They beat up on Dems and Reps alike, as merited’.
Sibel Edmonds isn’t ‘news?
Or do you think MSNBC doesn’t know about the story?
I’m curious.
some key words that need extrapolation; ” failing to note to the committee,”
Just how many of those comittee insiders and their retinue knew exactly who Hearne was and what he represents?
Why did none of them challenge his false assertions of non-alignment. Surely at least one progressive in the room should have had the courage to speak up and at least question Hearne about his real associations.
This happens too often in committee hearings, even today, that the obvious issue gets ignored and the meaningless minutia gets obsessed over.
And the public is once again left wondering how we got stuck with some of these looneys in the first place.
Now that Big Dan has finally come up for air, I will point out the difference: The tea party protestors don’t break things. The people who had weapons on them, by all reports, were doing so legally. They’re called “concealed/carry” permits. And they never shot anybody, nor did they show any intention of doing so.
Meanwhile, the G20 protests attracted once again the bong-gurgling, drug-saturated anarchist thugs that are too cowardly to ever show their faces. You find them at just about every anti-war protest, whether the anti-war crowd wants them there or not.
A quick reminder: None of this has anything to do with ACORN.
My name is Marcel Reid I served on ACORN’s National
Board of Directors. Ialong with Karen Inman were illegal removed from the National Board Nov/11/2008. We were elected by the National Board to investigate and help restructure ACORN on June 26,2008 in Detroit, Michigan. We called for a Forsenic Audit. We filed two lawsuits for access to the records of the organization. YOU cannot examine this case without
OUR imput we are ACORN8 the
Board Members who sought to protect the membership.
so I take it that some here think RAchel Maddow’s handlers tell her what she can and can not touch/report about.
Did not go near the Goldstone UN report, nothing about Sibel and the one report that she did about the Aipac trial being dismissed was to poke fun at the seriousness of the investigation and trial. Sort of doing a Bob Woodward’s attitude about the Plame outing “much ado about nothing” kind of attitude
there are valid reasons to criticize Rachel’s unwillingness to go after some critical issues. Not sure whether that is her decision or her producers
It’s true, Big Dan, that someone older than college age, dressed in ordinary street clothes, not acting or looking like a clown to the police, and legally carrying a weapon is less likely to encounter trouble from them. Number One: He’s armed. Number Two: He isn’t a threat to the same established power structure the police are trained to protect.
Protesting the G20, part of the mechanism for the theft of trillions from third world countries, is of itself a threat to that establishment, even if you’re thirty, clean-cut, not destroying property or looting… and carrying. While protesting the loss of profit for corporate megaliths, even if nobody has particularly endorsed it, isn’t a threat to them and so much less likely to rile the constabulary.
Police everywhere are already completely defended against the rabble in the streets threatening the establishment, but don’t have a playbook for establishment types threatening the rabble. So it doesn’t even need to be direct sponsorship that sent them. They can show up because of the vast right wing list server, or because of Tush Lumpboil or any in their media, or just because their buddies are going, and it will amount to the same thing. That’s the thing about the police and the establishment: There is an unwritten pact that the rabble gets managed and the establishment is respected and defended.
This isn’t actually new.
Los Anarchistas, or the Black Bloc, do seem to show up everywhere, worldwide. Think they are plants, perhaps?@
Re: Anarchists
Come on people open your eyes and your mind and think. Anarchists vandalize and get the free media coverage yet never go to jail yet peaceful protesters march holding signs break nothing but get the full treatment from the cops and go to jail. The Anarchists are nothing but government agents acting covertly to subvert the message of the real protesters. They did the same thing in Seattle for the WTO summit during the Clinton years.
I wonder why Rachel or someone, anyone, haven’t
requested the classified papers from Cheney’s Secret Meeting with the Big Oil execs? This February 2001 meeting was key to the planning of the Iraq war, I believe it is imparative this information be made public!
Any thoughts?
IBETT
Rachel Maddow is one of the smartest people on TV. I do not always agree with the way in which she presents all of her stories, but so far, she has proven to be a champion of truth and integrity. I appreciate how she calls people out that need to be examined, and how she corrects herself of any errors that she my inadvertently report. Rachel Maddow is a staple in my political education because she says it like it is and keeps it upbeat and non-depressing.
My friend Michael Rogers @ 15 said:
Good. Investigate. Hold them accountable.
AND, as long as you’re into this whole “accountability” thing, all of a sudden, investigate AND hold accountable those other federally funded agencies (Halliburton, Blackwater, etc.) who hve actually KILLED people and who get, as another reader pointed out, more in a single day from the federal government, than ACORN has gotten in a lifetime.
Oddly enough, those companies aren’t splashed across every “news” outlet, nor denied federal funding. And they’ve killed both civilians and U.S. troops alike. And they’ve actually carried out child prostitution/slavery in the bargain!
But ACORN is our concern?! Yup. And there’s a reason. And it’s got nothing to do with a fake pimp and fake prostitute. At least not the ones you saw on video.
TreeTop007 @ 22 said:
I didn’t say they report *all* of the news. Nor did I say they were perfect (not by a long shot, have been very critical of Olbermann, for example, in the past, for completely blowing the Clint Curtis story, inexcusably and irresponsibly, for example.)
But they are an actual and legtimate NEWS channel, with all the failures and imperfections that come with it. Fox “News”, on the other hand, is not a news channel. They are a propaganda arm of the GOP. Period.
JEP @ 23 said:
To be fair, at the time, I don’t know how many of the Dems, at least, actually new who Hearne was back then. He was a fairly little known Bush/Cheney counsel. Jim Dyke, Comm Dir for the RNC was likely much better known, which is likely one of the reasons he didn’t testify.
I’m quite sure Bob Ney (chair of the Admin Comm at the time, before going to jail for Abramoff-related crimes) and several other Republicans on the Committee knew exactly who he was, however. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been invited to “testify” (that’s in quotes, because he did little more than toss phony propaganda into the hearing) at all.
What a mess. Not God bless America, God DAMN America!
“Fox News is not a news channel. There are a GOP propaganda arm. Period.”
Lie. Just because they bring to light news stories that the other networks ignore, The lefty crowd howls like a bunch of banshees. Boo hoo hoo.
And keep in mind this: Even though a handful of the debates on FNC turn into shouting matches, there is still a heck of a lot more actual debate on FNC than MSNBC. Rachel Maddow every now and then brings on opposing voices, but she is much more content to simply bring on Pat Buchanan and let him make a fool of himself. Chris Matthews and Laurence O’Donnell – their idea of debate is to interrupt the conservative in the middle of every sentence that he or she utters.
Keith Olbermann and debate? Don’t even use those same two words in a sentence. He is too cowardly to debate anybody who fundamentally disagrees with him. The whole media biz knows this.
Ignorance. Fear. Denial. Projection all over the place. Barely a lick of self-examination. The right off the chart wacko. Obama a coward. The few(Brad’s one of them) who make sense largely unheard. Even at the margins, speaking the truth provokes a shitstorm. The Beast grows. Mordor vs the forces of life, liberty, truth, and justice. Can we change? Doesn’t seem like we’re evolving enough to remain on the planet much longer. And at this rate most of us aren’t even going to have a surfboard when the tidal waves hit. I need to go dancing.
[ed note: Comment from banned commenter deleted. –99]
[ed note: Comment from banned commenter deleted. –99]
The Anarchists are nothing but government agents acting covertly to subvert the message of the real protesters.
Yep! I noticed this a long time ago. The “anarchists” stories crop up ONLY when there’s a REAL protest. No “anarchists” at the Teabagger protests, notice? No one ever caught or interviewed one of these “anarchists”. Yep, noticed this a long time ago. Look up “agent provocateur”.
I noticed they rolled out the “anarchist” stories for the G20. It’s actually ridiculous and fully expected. I expected it. Even commented about it ahead of time, to expect fake “anarchist” stories.
COMMENT #24 [Permalink]
… Damail said on 9/26/2009 @ 10:35 am PT…
Now that Big Dan has finally come up for air, I will point out the difference: The tea party protestors don’t break things. The people who had weapons on them, by all reports, were doing so legally. They’re called “concealed/carry” permits. And they never shot anybody, nor did they show any intention of doing so.
Meanwhile, the G20 protests attracted once again the bong-gurgling, drug-saturated anarchist thugs that are too cowardly to ever show their faces. You find them at just about every anti-war protest, whether the anti-war crowd wants them there or not.
A quick reminder: None of this has anything to do with ACORN.
They don’t show their faces, because they’re agent provocateurs. Why don’t they just get one and take off their mask? Ever wonder that?
Also, Damail, how do you explain that the G20 show of force was PLANNED AHEAD OF TIME? And not for the “Teapartiers”? They didn’t just “show up” on the spur of the moment, the govt forces. Also, why did they empty the city beforehand?
Your electronic vote in the 2010 election has just been bought
http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2009/3543
Dear Damail and Big Dan,
Are you two related to each other?
To talk about teabaggers with assault weapons as if they’re simply good law abiding Americans enjoying their Constitutional rights and out for a nice peaceful day of protest is so far beyond the pale it would be laughable… if you find brownshirting hilarious. But you know, different strokes. Maybe you’re the type of person who falls off their chair with tears of merriment rolling down your cheeks when someone comes to the dinner party brandishing a Bowie knife or a Taser. Not me. I see weapons as weapons. I’m not happy about seeing them on the table during a friendly card game, or at a baby shower, or at a meeting about health care. You know, in situations where there would be no godly good reason to ever think they’d be necessary.
And BD, while I have no problem imagining government infiltrating any protest group or of even creating a protest group for their own manipulative purposes, I also have no problem imagining a small group of people actually BEING anarchists. From what I’ve read actual anarchists are probably one of the groups I’d be most in solidarity with. And given how far down the road to fascism we’ve gone it is not hard to imagine why serious challengers of the status quo would feel apprehensive about showing their faces. We are now doing to our own citizens what we’ve been doing to all those citizens in all those countries we’ve been messing around in for so long.(See John Perkins–Confessions of an Economic Hitman). A citizen promoting actual democracy and standing up for and attempting to USE the rights we supposedly hold so dear is now treated as the enemy. Barricades, tanks, helicopters, and overwhelmingly inappropriate show and use of force. And now the possiblity of indefinite detention from the guy who promised to correct the Bush overreachings.
Does anybody know what time it really is?
p.s. as long as I’m ranting…How the fuck do we get off telling ANYONE they can or can not pursue nuclear weapons? 1. We have more nuclear weapons than anyone. 2. We’re the biggest arms dealer in the world. 3. We have left or never joined various treaties banning various weapons. 4. Our good buddy Israel has nuclear weapons and has been in violation of several UN resolutions for decades. 5. Our good buddy Israel also acts on numerous occasions as an aggressor nation. 6. We have demostrated time and again that we’re all for regime change(ie. we do not abide by our own laws or the rules of the UN we’re a signatory to if we feel the need to use force). 7. And, of course, the topper– WE’RE THE ONLY COUNTRY THAT HAS ACTUALLY EVER USED A NUCLEAR WEAPON ON ANOTHER COUNTRY!!! All unmentioned every single goddamn fucking time the MSM parrots the next assinine comment coming out of our Repuklicans and Democraps about getting tough with Iran. Would you care for anything from our Hypocrisy Buffet? There’s quite a lot to choose from. Take as much as you like. No really… There’ll be plenty left over.
(Really need to go dancing)
In a recent article in The Nation, Scahill measured up Blackwater’s behavior to that of ACORN:
Blackwater was paid more than $73 million for federally funded, no-bid security contracts with the Department of Homeland Security in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, billing taxpayers $950 per man per day, a spending decision the Bush administration called “the best value to the government.†In the wake of the hurricane ACORN, meanwhile, only helped poor people who were suffering as a result of the government’s total failure to respond.
A recent federal audit of Blackwater, compiled by the State Department and the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, suggests the company may have to repay some $55 million to the government for allegedly failing to meet the terms of just one federal contract in Iraq–which, it is important to note, is $2 million more than the total amount allotted by the government to ACORN over the past fifteen years.
Thank you, Karen #44,
Yours is exactly the simple straightforward information we need to have, to hear, and to SAY OUT LOUD to counter the ever so many strains of utter nonsense so popular among pundits, politicians, and countless other people in our society. We’ve got a dysfunctional, hysterical, fear driven consciousness running rampant here. Very bad for our long term prospects. Too many pressing issues require our immediate attention. The endemic nonsense is an albatross around our nation’s(and the world’s) neck. We don’t really have time for it but there it is and must be dealt with. The hypocrisy that is seeping through so many points of view must be exposed simply, clearly, and without malice again, and again, and again. DON QUIXOTE RIDES!!!!!!!
For the record, the Republican party is just as corrupt as the Democrat party.
Let’s face it, if the exact same thing was going on in a conservative or Republican organization then these same people would be enraged and on every fringe media outlet calling for the immediate investigation of not only the organization but any and all Republicans that may have been involved. Impeach Bush!
Since this is a liberal and Democrat organization we should overlook the criminal things that they were caught on tape saying. Let’s blame everything on conservatives and Republicans.
For every person out there that chooses to overlook the obvious and blame everything on Republicans, will you use the same measure of judgment for Democrats? If not, then I and others have nothing to learn from you.
“Name” @ 46 incorrectly asserted:
Except that the exact same thing has occurerd by rightwing organizations and far, far worse, as we’ve been detailing here for years, and the wingnuts have done not a thing about it. Neither have the Democrats, for that matter.
Your premise is completely disproven by actual facts. Go figure.
Yup, the problem is that Republicans have a ‘projection’ problem. They have a habit of accusing the Dems of doing exactly what they have done or wished to do! Yup, when they accuse a health reform bill of pushing ‘death panels’ it is a figment of THEIR imagination, so watch out! This is what they have been thinking of! Projection, projection, projection! Read about it, if you aren’t familiar with it as a psychological concept!
Brad Friedman @47
You are partially correct. I am a former Republican. After supporting them almost blindly for 20+ years I came realize that there is much corruption within the party.
I welcome the exposing of corruption in the Republican party. I’m done with party affiliation.
By the way, the primary reason for me leaving the party is watching Glenn Beck. He is a Libertarian and goes after both the right and the left. Until right after the 2008 election I never even gave third-party candidates or positions any consideration. I didn’t even want to listen to Ron Paul.
It was after watching Beck 4-5 times per week (first on CNN, now on Fox) that I realized that the Republican party does not represent the good of the American people. *Neither does the Democrat party. I want politicians in office that value individual liberty more than their career. Very few currently fit that bill.
I am now willing and even eager to watch, listen and read points of views from Democrats and even liberals. I no longer label myself a ‘conservative’, although most at this web site would consider me conservative. I now look at each issue and decide what is best/better/correct.
We, the People need to stand up to corruption in every party. Beck is inviting members of Congress to expose corruption within their own party, and do it confidentially. We need this.
I now see that Bush was indeed a horrible President. He did some good things, but overall, not so much. Bush increased the size and power of the Federal government immensely. Yet, now that Obama is President, he is not given that power up. He should cancel the Patriot act and end both wars. Yet, he wont.
Meet the new Boss, same as the old Boss.
Sorry, Name, but if you haven’t figured out that the Republicans are in the pocket of Big Business yet, you’re a little slow. Bush’s real problem wasn’t that he increased the size of the federal government, it’s that he blew lots of money spending it on his corporate cronies and screwed the citizenry in the processs. You’re clueless. I’ll take Obama over either Bush or McSame, any day at all.
Yeah! At least the corrupt bastards he’s enriching aren’t his cronies!
And at least he’s fighting the unconstitutional/unAmerican stuff put in by the scummy last administration… or… no, wait… er… not so much….
To brantl #50,
Regarding “I’ll take Obama over either Bush or McSame, any day at all.” I now agree with you. A year ago, no way.
Not because I agree with the policies of the Obama administration (and all the criminals he employs), but because if Bush/McSame were elected it would not have awaken the citizenry.
Many of those on the right and Republicans would have minimized and overlooked the faults of McSame. Today, unlike any other for decades, the Democrat party has a significant majority in Congress and the White House. They have such a majority they could pass just about any legislation they want. All the bad things that happen to our country moving forward can not in good conscience be blamed on the right or Republicans.
As I mentioned before I am a former Republican. You can attack them all day long as far as I’m concerned.
One of my points is that the things I read on this and other type of sites say the almost exact same things as those on the far-right. Broad-brushing millions of citizens if they do not agree with 100% of what you believe.
I recently started listening and watching Alex Jones at infowars.com. He perspective is different (IMO) than the far left or far right. He slams Bush without mercy and he also slams Obama the same.
He does offer a lot of good information and has created a number of videos. Yet, after a while I have come to the conclusion that he also broad-brushes people – if they don’t believe 100% of what he does. This is disappointing. Yet, I will still listen to him, liberals, conservatives and independents.
As Americans, we need to find common ground. The two-party system controls everything. And they both have corruption within. One thing is guaranteed; either a Democrat or a Republican WILL be elected to the office of the Presidency. And 99% guaranteed that a Democrat or Republican will be elected to the Congress or State governments.
All that both parties have to do to win is to make sure that the right hates the left, and the left hates the right. United we stand, divided we fall.
We need to come together on common issues. Namely, personal Liberty for all.
The is an excellent video that Jones created called the Obama Deception (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaQNACwaLw). Don’t let the title throw you off… Less than half is about Obama. Much is about the corruption of Bush and other prior presidents.
Our country is changing into something that [continues to] reduce and eliminate personal liberty. This should be one cause that every American can rally around.