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Amend 2012!

There were a number of ballot measures in the recent election that asked people if they wanted to see the Citizens United Supreme Court decision overturned. And the results are that over seven million people said that corporations are not people and money is not free speech.

The state of Montana passed initiative I-166 with a 75% landslide, which prohibits corporate contributions or expenditures in elections and directs the state to help pass an amendment to the US constitution overturning Citizens United. What makes this even more interesting is that Mitt Romney carried Montana with 55%, so even die-hard Republicans think Citizens United was a bad decision.

Colorado also passed a similar amendment (with a similar margin), as did more than half of Massachusetts towns and cities, San Francisco and Richmond in California, two cities and a county in Oregon, and Chicago.

Common Cause has created a website “Amend 2012” where you can find out ways to help overturn Citizens United, with the slogan “Only People Are People”.

While around 75% of Americans think Citizens United should be overturned, the 1% are going to spend a lot of money to keep their right to flood elections with (often anonymous) money, annoy people with a deluge of attack ads, and otherwise buy our democracy. We may be burned out on politics, but now is our best chance to do something about this.

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No Wonder Republicans Want to Cut Funding for Education

What makes this even more ironic is that it is based on data from Fox Business. According to that same data, states that voted for Mitt Romney not only have fewer people with college degrees, they have lower median household incomes and more people below the poverty line.

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The Only Thing to Fear Is …

The only way this could be better is if it were a photo of Gene Wilder from Blazing Saddles.

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Reality Check

You can see a longer (and even better) version of this here.

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Late Night Political Humor

“Congratulations to President Obama on being reelected president of the United States. Turns out it is not all bad news for the Republicans. It seems that depression is covered by Obamacare.” – Jay Leno

“The long national nightmare is finally over. We have expressed our will at the polls. The results have been tallied and we proved once again that American democracy is alive and well — even if Florida was more confused than an old person with an iPhone.” – Craig Ferguson

“President Obama defeated Mitt Romney last night. We know this for sure despite the fact that the returns from Florida still have not been counted. What goes on in Florida? They had four years to fix this. We need to make sure Florida never gets the Olympics.” – Jimmy Kimmel

“The presidential election is that special time every four years when Americans gather around their TVs to be reminded where the states are on a map.” – Jimmy Kimmel

“Well, it’s over, and as usual, the guy from Kenya won.” – David Letterman

“Yesterday was a historic day. Everyone marked it in different ways. A Kenyan woman gave birth to twin boys and named them Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. Obviously she named the one that came out second Mitt Romney.” – Conan O’Brien

“It was a big night for the Democrats. Obama won the electoral vote and the popular vote. Mitt Romney on the other side won the unpopular vote.” – David Letterman

After 18 months, the election is over. You know what made a big difference last night? The Hispanic vote. The president got 70 percent of the Hispanic vote in Colorado and Nevada. And in New Hampshire, Obama got the support of both Latino guys.” – Conan O’Brien

“Today everyone was busy looking at all the different numbers, trying to figure out who voted for which candidate. President Obama beat Mitt Romney by 38 points among single women. They say it’s because of Obama’s final campaign slogan, ‘Hope and Pinot Grigio’.” –Jimmy Fallon

“Exit polls show that President Obama did well with women, beating Romney by 11 binders.” – Jay Leno

“In a stage show Madonna urged her audience to vote for President Obama. You know what’s unbelievable? Madonna has been right in every election since Calvin Coolidge.” – Jay Leno

“The president also got help in the election last night with 70 percent of the Jewish vote. When Jewish voters heard their support for Obama was so high, they were like, ‘Eh, coulda been better.'” – Jimmy Fallon

“Mitt Romney did well with certain voters. It was close. He had the support of men, people over 45, and married women. In other words, Mitt Romney had the support of Mitt and Ann Romney.” – Conan O’Brien

“Keep in mind, this was no landslide, folks. It was like a 51-49er. Just because Obama won these blue states up here, he’s the president of all of them now? Look, Romney won all that red stuff. Why don’t we elect our president on square footage? Because Romney won some big states, folks, the whole damn south.” – Stephen Colbert

“Obama won last night, and for the Democrats that’s great, so we’ll just have to wait and see what happens in tonight’s debate.” – David Letterman

“A victory like this is just the kind of thing that might sway the undecided voters.” – David Letterman

“In his victory speech last night, President Obama told his daughters that they would not be getting another dog. When asked why, the president said, ‘Because I just made Mitt Romney my bitch.” – Conan O’Brien

“Mitt waited until 1 a.m. to give his concession speech. They were talking to him and said what are you going to do now? And he said, ‘I plan to spend some time with my tax returns.'” – David Letterman

“Some Republicans are taking it hard. Clint Eastwood spent the entire day buying drinks for an empty bar stool.” – David Letterman

“A lot of people said over the last few weeks that if Obama wins, they’re going to move to Canada. How come nobody threatens to move to Mexico? That must be depressing for them.” – Jimmy Kimmel

“The illegal electioneering went all the way to the ballot itself. All over the country, what did voters have to do on their scantron sheets? Fill in an ‘O.’ Huh, where have I seen that before? And no surprise, it starts out white and you’re forced to fill it in black.” – Stephen Colbert

“Actually I thought Mitt Romney was very gracious last night. He gave a very touching concession speech. And the good news for Romney is that he can still run for president of the Cayman Islands.” – Jay Leno

“Mitt Romney was very gracious in his remarks in his concession speech. Shortly after Mitt Romney conceded, Paul Ryan was untied and set free.” – David Letterman

“This morning the stock market plunged over 300 points. You know why? Romney pulled his money out.” – Jay Leno

“The had a CBS exit poll last night. 100 percent of the people questioned in the exit poll said they were leaving.” – David Letterman

“Some more good news – the president announced today he is not going to raise taxes on the entire 1 percent, just Donald Trump.” – Jay Leno

“Trump is not giving up. When it was announced that President Obama easily won the Electoral College, Trump demanded to see Obama’s Electoral College records.” – Jay Leno

“I really think in all of what happened yesterday, the only person who should be considered a ‘loser’ is Donald Trump. I’ll tell you why. He went on Twitter demanding a revolution. So far no one’s listened to him — because he’s Donald Trump! After that, Trump tweeted, ‘The world is laughing at us.’ I’m thinking, No, Donald. The world is laughing at you and this is why. It is because you’re wearing an orange face and a crazy wig. This is the uniform the world over of a clown! Nobody laughs WITH the clown. They laugh AT the clown. Then when the clown gets angry, it is funnier.” – Craig Ferguson

“Donald Trump is starting to lose it. At one point last night on Twitter, he called for revolution since Obama won. The man’s a billionaire who owns golf courses, okay. You don’t call for revolution. Billionaires are the first ones beheaded during a revolution.” – Jay Leno

“Vice President Joe Biden said now that the election is over, he’s going to take a vacation. He’s been vice president for four years. That is a vacation!” – Jay Leno

“There’s talk that ABC news anchor Diane Sawyer seemed drunk on the air last night. Sawyer was like, ‘Breaking news — we are now calling . . . my ex-boyfriend Nick to see what HE’S up to these days.'” – Jimmy Fallon

“Yesterday Maine and Maryland approved gay marriage. And today Delaware confessed to being bi-curious.” – Conan O’Brien

“Colorado and Washington have become the first states to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. That’s a big deal because here in California, you can use marijuana legally only if you receive it for a fake medical condition.” – Jimmy Kimmel

“Last night Colorado became the first state to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. They just renamed their NBA team the Denver McNuggets.” – Jimmy Fallon

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Landslide


© Jim Morin

I hope that people don’t forget about reversing the Citizens United decision just because Obama won the election despite overwhelming corporate spending to defeat him. As Jen Sorensen put it:

Yes, we beat the Koch Brothers and Adelson and corporate dark money this time. But really, this race should not have been even remotely close. Four years after Republicans and Wall Street left the country in ruins, we nearly elected a private equity shark who dismissed half the country as leeches. That’s screwed up. Money talked, and it confused a lot of people.

This is no time to sit back on our laurels. We need to reduce the influence of special interests in our elections, and a good first step is to increase transparency by eliminating secret political donations.

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Good Grief!


© Nick Anderson

After blaming just about everyone in America for our woes (gays, immigrants, women, Democrats, non-whites, …), I guess it would be too much to expect the GOP to do anything other than blame everyone else for their election loss.

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Late Night Political Humor

“Everyone is asking how this storm is going to affect the election. I think it’s given Obama momentum because of how he handled it. He approached it so differently than Bush; he showed up.” – Bill Maher

“Oabma’s been getting bipartisan praise for how he handled the hurricane. Even Fox News tried to praise it. Of course, they’re heart’s not in it. The best they could do was Pat Buchanan said, “You’re doing a heck of a job, Brownie.'” – Bill Maher

“Did you see Romney packing up canned goods for victims. The people in New Jersey were like, ‘What, make my marinara sauce out of a can? What are you a fucking moron?” – Bill Maher

“What happened is Romney had a rally where they bought $5,000 worth of canned goods from Wal-Mart, handed them out to their supporters, and then had their supporters pretend to be giving them to the victims for the cameras. Because that’s what Mitt is all about — people. People pretending to help people. Later on he gave blood, then stole it back and chugged it.” – Bill Maher

“Even Chris Christie looked pretty good, and I loved it that Obama was with him all weekend. And it really helped Obama because Obama said he learned something in college: Nothing takes your mind off hard times like relaxing with a fatty.” – Bill Maher

“They did not have Halloween in New Jersey Wednesday night. Governor Chris Christie postponed it by executive order until Monday. However, he did spend the day scaring Republicans by praising President Obama.” – Jay Leno

“The New York Marathon is now not happening on Sunday. Mayor Bloomberg canceled it. I think that was the right thing to do. In fact, I don’t even know why they bother running the marathon. We know what’s going to happen. Why not just find a random Kenyan, put a medal around his neck, and save everyone the trouble?” – Jimmy Kimmel

“New York City is desperately trying to return to normal. Wait a minute. When were we normal?” – David Letterman

Tonight they’re having a big benefit that is bothering Fox News on NBC for the victims, with all the stars from New York and New Jersey: Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi. On FOX they said ‘where are the conservative performers?’ That’s right, that’s what would help so much. ‘Thank you Bruce Springsteen. And now a dramatic reading from the Starr Report by John Voight and the remaining Oakridge Boy.'” – Bill Maher

“They also on Fox News questioned the timing of the benefit. They said, what’s the rush? I know, when will liberals get it? Storm victims do not want food and blankets, they want answers about Benghazi.” – Bill Maher

“On Fox News they’re obsessed with Benghazi. They want answers. They’re like a teen boy reaching into a pair of panties for the first time. They’re not sure what it is, they’re not sure where it is but they know there’s something in there and they’re going to find it.” – Bill Maher

“Forget ideology. Mitt Romney is just always wrong about everything. He was wrong about bin Laden…he was wrong about FEMA. He said only a few months ago we should get rid of of FEMA and let private enterprise handle disaster relief. What a great idea. Of course, on Wednesday he released a statement saying no, he loves FEMA now. I tell you, if you think a super storm is bad, if Mitt and anti-Mitt ever met, the universe would implode.” – Bill Maher

“You almost have to admire the – I can only describe it as the political zen of this man, where the past is always an illusion, and the lying bullshit you say in this perfect moment is all that matters.” – Bill Maher

“You folks ready to vote? On the bright side, after Tuesday we’ll finally be rid of at least one candidate. That’s good news.” – David Letterman

“The election is four days away, and more than 2.7 million people in Florida have already cast their vote. Unfortunately, since it’s Florida most of them just stuffed their ballot into a toaster oven.” – Jimmy Fallon

“Mitt Romney is reminding everybody about changing your clocks. He’s urging his voters, his constituents, and all Americans to turn your clocks back to 1954.” – David Letterman

“Yesterday in Virginia, Mitt Romney criticized President Obama for making puns about his name, like ‘Romnesia.’ Then he said, ‘I mean it’s just an ‘Obamanation’.” – Jimmy Fallon

“Good news for the Republicans: Once the polls close on Tuesday, they’ll be able to bring out Paul Ryan again. He’s been hiding with Mitt Romney’s tax returns.” – David Letterman

“This week the U.S. unveiled a larger, more convenient checkpoint at the border with Mexico. And then Mexicans unveiled a larger, more convenient tunnel around it.” – Jimmy Fallon

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Summing up the Future

I really like Jon Stewart’s summary of the election and what it should mean for the future, but I fear that Stephen Colbert’s parody of what the Republican reaction will look like may be more accurate:

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Learning from Failure

Here’s a short reading list of interesting articles about why and how Romney and the Republicans managed to turn almost certain victory into failure.

First stop is a really interesting interactive infographic from Slate, the “Pundit Scorecard”. Go look at it. It is interesting that there were a number of predictions of the presidential election results that were spot on, most significantly Nate Silver but also a few explicitly partisan sources (like DNC chairwoman Donna Brazile). Even more interesting is that every single prediction coming from conservative media was way off the mark, in favor of Romney. Even quite a few predictions coming from supposedly liberal sources (like the Washington Post and MSNBC) or from supposedly liberal contributors to conservative sources (like Lanny Davis on Fox News) overstated Romney’s results.

In fact, you can roughly group the pundits into three distinct categories. There are a few who were remarkably accurate, and every single one of them was associated with liberal sources (there’s that liberal bias of reality again!). Then there is a group of liberal sources who missed the mark in favor of Romney (so much for liberal bias of the MSM). And finally all the conservative sources, who were embarrassingly wrong.

Second stop is our old friend Electoral-Vote, with a quick but insightful analysis of what went wrong for the Republicans. Ironically, they also predict what the Tea Party will say went wrong, and what Karl Rove is probably thinking (Rove being one of the conservatives who totally botched his prediction of the outcome, probably because he spent so much money trying to make it so). And by the way, Electoral-Vote also did a remarkably accurate job predicting the election.

Finally, there are two really good articles from The Atlantic and Mother Jones about why the conservative media failed so badly. To oversimplify, it is because they are far more interested in making money and gaining viewers, than in (you know) actually reporting news (or reality).

The Atlantic frames the question this way:

Before rank-and-file conservatives ask, “What went wrong?”, they should ask themselves a question every bit as important: “Why were we the last to realize that things were going wrong for us?”

Or as Mother Jones puts it:

At some point, Republicans will need to wake up to the current state of affairs and realize they’re being held hostage to a powerful, self-sustaining entertainment industry and that the interests of the party and the interests of Fox News are not one and the same.

Interestingly, I think Bill O’Reilly summed it up well in his debate with Jon Stewart. The problem is that you can make lots of money telling people what they want to hear, rather than the truth.

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Voting Slavishly?

I found this image on Facebook. I’m not sure if it is valid. First of all, the Washington Territory wasn’t created until 1853, and yet this says the map is from 1846. And the Civil War itself didn’t start until 1861. So this is not a “Civil War Map” and it sure isn’t from 1846.

In fact, this is what the US looked like in 1846:

The question of which territories were open to slavery changed several times. In fact, in 1861, Kansas was admitted as a free state.

But regardless, it is interesting to see the lingering correlation between slavery and our current election results.

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Late Night Political Humor

“The hurricane cleanup seems worse than we thought. President Obama came to New Jersey. Chris Christie invited him to come in, and they put politics aside to get New Jersey up and running as soon as possible. And then they had lunch together and President Obama gained 10 pounds.” – David Letterman

“Today Rush Limbaugh joked about President Obama and Chris Christie being gay lovers. Obama and Christie are furious, and said they’d give a formal response as soon as they get back from the Caribbean.” – Conan O’Brien

“It took hurricane-force winds to blow a Democrat and a Republican together.” – David Letterman

“President Obama canceled the annual White House Halloween party. He didn’t want to; he just didn’t want to risk a trick-or-treater asking him a question about Libya.” – Jay Leno

“New Jersey is in bad shape. Governor Christie announced water restrictions. No one is allowed to water their lawns, but they just got 18 feet of water so that seems like a reasonable request.” – Jimmy Kimmel

“The East Coast is still dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Because of congestion, Mayor Bloomberg is only allowing cars with at least three passengers to drive into Manhattan. You can’t cross the bridge with a bunch of empty seats – which was really confusing for Clint Eastwood.” – Jimmy Fallon

“Mayor Bloomberg announced that Sunday’s marathon will go ahead as scheduled. Immediately afterward, Paul Ryan announced he finished in 2 hours, 2 minutes, and 12 seconds.” – David Letterman

“The power is still out for 4.5 million people. And they say 20 percent of the cell towers in New York have been wiped out. That means people have been resorting to using pay phones. They’re so filthy I’d rather write a letter.” – Jimmy Kimmel

“Italy’s former prime minster Sylvio Berlusconi has been sentenced to four years in prison for tax evasion. You know what you get in America for tax evasion? The Republican presidential nomination.” – Jay Leno

“Today is the first day of November, which means the election will soon be over. And then we can finally get started on the recount.” – Jimmy Fallon

“Last night I answered the door and there was a kid lying on the porch. He was playing dead. I said: ‘What are you supposed to be?’ He said: ‘the economy’.” – Jay Leno

“A 108-year-old woman in South Carolina just voted for the first time. She voted for Eisenhower — but still, good for her.” – Jimmy Fallon

“Two women from the Dominican Republic claim that New Jersey Senator Senator Bob Menendez paid them for sex. If true, he could be charged with impersonating a Secret Service agent. In his defense, Senator Menendez denies the charges, but I think he’s in trouble. Who’s going to take the word of a politician over a whore?” – Jay Leno

“The International Olympic Committee is investigating Lance Armstrong for the bronze medal he won at the 2000 Olympics. A little tip for the IOC: If Lance was on steroids and he came in third, you might want to take a peek at the guys with gold and silver.” – Conan O’Brien

“Disney has bought the rights to the “Star Wars” movies for $4 billion. “Star Wars” fans are passionate. Most don’t like the newer movies. But some people prefer them to the originals. These people are known as idiots.” – Craig Ferguson

“The new films will be made by Disney. I’ve worked with Disney. They’re a great company to work for. If I don’t say that, they’ll hurt me.” – Craig Ferguson

“George Lucas says that before he closed the deal with Disney, he gave rough outlines for episodes seven, eight, and nine that he wrote himself. Disney was like, “Great, George. We’ll just put them on the fridge.” – Craig Ferguson

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The Vanishing WASP

One of the few interesting things I heard while watching election coverage last night was the observation that this was the first presidential election in our country’s history where none of the main contenders for president and vice-president were white protestants.

Obama is the only protestant, but is not white.
Romney is white, but a member of the LDS church.
Biden and Ryan are both Roman Catholics (in fact, Biden was our first Catholic VP).

Not so long ago, all four were pretty much guaranteed to be white protestants, with few exceptions.

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No Banana


© Tom Toles

And the best news was that it was over relatively quickly.

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Election Highlights

A few months ago, everyone predicted the GOP would win a majority in the Senate. Instead, the unthinkable happened and Dems actually gained in the Senate. They also gained around ten seats in the House.

Gay marriage has been on various state ballots 33 times, and always lost. Until now. Last night four states approved gay marriage. And Tammy Baldwin became the first openly gay senator ever elected.

Two states legalized marijuana.

New Hampshire now has women in all their House and Senate positions, plus as their governor.

And the presidential election wasn’t as close as predicted. The GOP bet everything, including insane amounts of money, on Romney and lost. You can’t buy everything.

All in all, it was a great night for progressives.

I predict that Congress will pass immigration reform in the next four years, and probably before the next midterm elections. The Latino vote really hurt the GOP and they know it.

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