DOWNLOADS: (109)

PLAYS: (1302)

Embed

Newt Gingrich, while thanking the Koch family for hosting a political fundraiser in 2007 adds "I think anytime you can visit a starter home like this..." Received by rounds of laughter from guests, Gingrich continues on to make a joke about the "core" differences between liberals and conservatives while using the no doubt palatial estate of the Koch family in an analogy about public housing.

Personally, I think Casey Anthony could beat him in a personality contest.

Here's the thing about an "entitlement society" the GOP candidates like to rail against: They don't like the fact that too many people would benefit from it. They're 1 percent suck ups.

We have a couple failed CEOs running around pretending to be moderates out here in California. You can't go far without stumbling across a Fiorina or Whitman ad.

Retail politics doesn't really work here, because the state is too huge. Even though TV is crazy expensive (it's a couple million dollars just for a statewide penetration ad buy), it's the most efficient way to move California voters.

Fiorina and the NRSC have already reserved more than $9 million in TV time. And that doesn't count all the outside groups who are going big against Boxer, including the $1 million buy last week from Karl Rove's new group. Whenever Fiorina's needed more money, she's just cracked open the checkbook and wrote out another multi-million dollar check.

In short, she has effectively unlimited resources for her race. Plus, when Whitman cuts whatever multi-million dollar check for California Republican Party GOTV, Fiorina gets a slice of that as well. Boxer's only shot to is to match it with grassroots support.

Today's the first and only debate between Boxer and Fiorina. Boxer is celebrating it with a big moneybomb, pushing to get as many donors in a day as possible. Give whatever you can to help counter Fiorina's big bucks.

And if you need more motivation, here is Sarah Palin's endorsement of Carly Fiorina:

"I'm proud to endorse [Carly Fiorina] for U.S. Senate... She is pro-life, pro-traditional marriage, pro-military, and pro-strict border security and against amnesty... Carly is also a strong supporter of the Second Amendment. Like me, she is a member of the NRA, has a 100% NRA rating, and she and her husband are gun owners."

Gag me.

I'm throwing in $50 right now to Boxer. Who will join me? If you have $3, give $3. Every little bit helps.

Oh and have you seen Brave New Films' latest ad whacking Fiorina for supporting Arizona's racial profiling law targeted at Latinos? It's atop this post.

Now go chip in what you can.

David and I joined KFPK's host Maria Amoudian for almost thirty minutes discussing our new book Over the Cliff: How Obama's Election Drove the American Right Insane.

The show airs on KPFK Radio 90.7 FM in Los Angeles and 98.7 FM in Santa Barbara, and on WPRR Radio 1680 AM in Grand Rapids, MI.

It'll be available on podcast pretty soon also.

And don't forget to buy our book.

I'll also be speaking at a fundraiser Friday night in Beverly Hills for the Hollywood Alliance at 7:30 PM.

The LA Progressive writes:

John Amato Speaking at LA Media Reform Fundraiser in Beverly Hills on July 16 John Amato Reading
Friday, July 16, 7:30 p.m., in Beverly Hills
(Address available after RSVP)
RSVP to lamrg@commoncause.org
Suggested donation of $35 includes signed copy of “Over the Cliff

The LA Media Reform group is sponsoring this event in collaboration with the LA Progressive and Alliance Hollywood.

Please email them for the info and click over to the LA Progressive for more details.

Today is the last day I'm going to run the fundraiser for a while. We're hoping to have a late surge to hit our mark, but it's gone very well. (Blue Gal makes very funny C&L vids too.)
You can send donations to our P.O. Box also. Many people like to use this option. You guys have done a wonderful job so thanks-very-much. Readers understand what we do and how hard we work to do it and the work we will continue to do.

Snail Mail:

Crooksandliars.com

POBOX 66310

Los Angeles, CA 90066

Balloon Juice: Interesting...so is this

Mashable: FCC Turns Up the Heat in Battle for Net Neutrality

Obsidian Wings: Evil becomes banal when people -- good people -- stop recognizing it, stop appreciating it, and come to accept it as normal.

Democratic Strategist: Primaries reveal an enthusiasm gap favoring Republicans

Open Left: Living Liberally and Open Left are holding a joint fundraiser this week. Help out if you can

OFF THE BEATEN PATH: Left In Alabama, nancy nall, Techdirt

DOWNLOADS: (683)

PLAYS: (1696)

Embed

Glenn Beck didn't bother to even have any guests on his program yesterday because he was too busy calling progressives "parasites" and "a virus" and making insane connections that only he understands. That's typical eliminationist rhetoric.

He can't handle differences of political belief, so he wants to wipe out liberals and progressives from the face of the earth. He believes that since he uses a blackboard with chalk and incoherently erases a letter off of one word to form new words that will make it all comprehensible.

Beck's been working himself up into a frothy, psycho-frenzied lather about destroying all progressives as he promotes Jonah Goldberg's dishonest book and thesis about fascism, which he uses for his own demented documentary. And apparently I should be eliminated too.

Wow, all because I was not happy with Lynne Woolsey for hosting a fundraiser for CA-36's very own Blue Dog, Jane Harman, and wrote a few posts about it calling for her to stop.

Beck: The traditional democratic party is going up against the radical fringe left.

I've been telling you that there's a difference between democrats and progressives from the beginning now but nobody wants to listen. Here it is. Their are Blue Dog democrats and but they are not socialists, Marxists radicals. They are more like your grand father's democrat. Most Democrats still love America, they love the founders and they love the constitution and believe in this country. But then there's another group and they have infiltrated not just the Democratic party, but the republican party...

Speak softly and carry a big stick. blah, blah, blah...We got this from an insider. Wait until you hear this story. The co-chair of the CPC...

How many times have I said they are like a virus feeding on the host of republic.

The progressives are parasites inside the democrat....The California progressives weren't the only ones upset. John Amato of Crooksandliars wrote on Huffington Post.

"for Woolsey to holding a fundraising events for a known Blue Dog should be a firing offense for the CPC."

Progressives Democrats for America joined in, They started an online petition asking her to withdraw from the event. Woolsey said no. I don't know how this story ends quite frankly it's California and it's all going to end in a mudslide right into the bottom of the ocean eventually anyway, but let me tell you something. The last time the progressives were in this position and they started gobbling power and they exposed themselves people caught on and hated them.

That threatens him, so he warns that people like me are destroying the Democratic Party. Of course, you know he loves the Democratic Party as much as he loves eating sandpaper. He opines that progressives have been hiding for years and years in the wilderness and suddenly snuck up on him.

He's the Teabagger King and is trying to purge all moderate Republicans from the GOP, as if they were a disease, and replace them with arch-conservative haters. And while he's at it, he wants to do the same for Democrats.

Of course, Glenn has nothing but our own best interests at heart. Riiiiiiiight.

UPDATE: After watching this again and adding a little transcript, isn't it nice for Beck to hope that California gets hit with an earthquake that destroys the state and we end up as fish food. What a guy, that Beck. He not only is hoping for progressives to be eliminated, but the entire state of California as well.

Another year has come and almost gone. It's been a tough one for the entire country, but I think we're doing our best, and so has our entire Team Crooks. I've also been a volunteer for Blue America and the support you have shown our Campaign for Health Care Choice and the many great progressive candidates we've endorsed like Alan Grayson has been incredible.

We're reaching out to our readers again and asking for help so that the MSM doesn't overrun the blogosphere. They are pouring millions of dollars in to try and compete with bloggers. Their new twist to fool America is that they have the nerve to call themselves "bloggers." Paid journalists from corporations are trying to co-opt the term.

C&L has been expanding and improving the site and we need your help to continue to make improvements. We're almost finished with a new design that will also include a "diaries" function for people that are registered C&L users which will have a neat video format that will be open to you also. More shall be revealed when we unveil the new design. We hope to have it ready in January. This has taken a lot of time and a lot of dedication from many, many people. Please donate what you can.

In the coming year we're also trying to reach out into the blogosphere to hire more people to make C&L an even better site. We'll be looking for video bloggers, a researcher, site monitors an investigative journalist and interns as well, but we can't do it without your help. (You can email resumes at crooksandliars@gmail.com) I'll post more about that soon.

In 2009, TIME Magazine called us one of the Top 25 Blogs of the year.

In 2008, C&L won the Web Blog award for Best Political Blog on the net.

Mike Stark has been a regular member in the liberal blogosphere for a long time and has been on the Hill with his Flip camcorder getting pols on tape to answer questions that the media somehow never seems to get around to asking.

Digby, Howie and myself have joined with CREDO and are trying to generate some cash for him. I know it's tight out there. Advertising has been down for all of us and I may have to do another fundraiser soon for C&L, but if you can please sign Credo's petition that will send a coat hanger to every member of the pro-choice party that voted yes to the ugly Stupak amendment and a dollar to Mike. Blue America is collecting the money from CREDO and we decided to give it to Mike.

Here's Mike to explain:

And you aren't the only folks noticing this work. Blue America (Howie Klein, Digby, John Amato) and Credo Action/Working Assets have also been keeping an eye on my efforts. They realize that this work cannot continue without support (I have a family to feed, student loans and rent to pay, etc. etc.), and they know a movement cannot succeed without mutual support. With that in mind, they've teamed up to raise some money for me.

Credo Action/Working Assets has a petition set up. For every signature on the petition, they'll be delivering a coat-hanger to Representatives that voted for the ridiculously regressive ant-choice Stupak Amendment. In addition, for every signature, up to 5,000, they'll donate $1 to StarkReports. Right now they are at about 1800 signatures.

If you appreciate hard-hitting and tenacious reporting... If you like seeing powerful people asked tough questions... If you want a media that works for you... I can use your help. Please sign the petition (it costs you nothing but your time). Watch my videos. Visit (and bookmark) StarkReports.com. If you've got some extra cash, drop it in the donation box on the right-side nav bar...

In the meantime, I'll be asking more tough questions this week. I've got some doozies stored away; this is sure to be a productive week.

DOWNLOADS: (3097)

PLAYS: (15403)

Embed

Hey, good luck with that! I'm sure the shy and uncertain Rep. Grayson will fold quickly under all the Republican wonderfulness:

Republicans eager to unseat a brash Orlando Democrat who said their party's health care plan amounts to hoping people "die quickly" have so far been unsuccessful in finding a candidate.

But now comes a willing Republican -- all the way from South Florida.

Armando Gutierrez Jr., son of one of Miami's best-known political consultants and a member of local civic boards, voted in the city of Coral Gables as recently as April.

But he says he's the right person to take on Rep. Alan Grayson, who likes to call Republicans "knuckle-dragging Neanderthals" and has become one of the party's top targets in 2010.

Gutierrez, a 28-year-old real estate developer and Republican Party fundraiser, said he has already lined up endorsements from three Central Florida Republicans: U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis and state Reps. Chris Dorworth and Bryan Nelson.

At least three Orlando Republicans have declined to run against Grayson, who has millions of dollars of his own to spend on the race and is emerging as a rock star in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party. Even some Republican strategists say Gutierrez is a long shot.

"The fact that Republicans have to import their candidate from 300 miles away shows how strong Congressman Grayson is," said Eric Jotkoff, a spokesman for the Florida Democratic Party.

Gutierrez says he has been doing business in Central Florida for six years and started renting in downtown Orlando earlier this year. State law does not require congressional candidates to live in the district. He registered to vote in Orange County on Sept. 11, his birthday.

I had hoped to go to a party for Rep. Barbara Lee on Sunday, but it turned out to be too early in the day for me and we have those pesky Sunday Bobblehead shows to cover. Still, I heard it was a great event. I wanted to thank her because she was the only member of Congress who voted against Bush's war resolution back in 2002. And she explained it this way:

BARBARA LEE: First, our nation is in grieving, we're all mourning, we're angry; there are a range of emotions taking place. Myself personally, I am also grieving and I believe fully and firmly that the Congress of the United States is the only legislative body that can say, "Let's pause for a moment...and let's look at using some restraint before we rush to action." Because military action can lead to an escalation and spiral out of control. So, why I voted no, was one, the president already has the authority to execute a military action. He doesn't need Congress; under the War Powers Act he has that authority. But Congress is the people's house, and the Congress is responsible for providing checks and balances, and you cannot just allow the administration to run ahead with a strategy without reporting back and without having some oversight.

Too bad the rest of Congress didn't see the situation as clearly as she did.

Howie Klein was there and he has some interesting news about her bill to stop the Afghanistan war and how we're supposed to pay for it:

And Thursday, as a member of the Appropriations Committee, she introduced HR 3699, a bill that will prohibit funding any increase in the number of members of the United States Armed Forces in Afghanistan.

Bush funded his wars with supplemental budgets which meant he just printed money-- trillions of dollars-- to pay for them without having to worry about raising taxes (on current voters) or about cutting services directly. One result has been the worst economic disaster since the Great Depression. Obama campaigned on a promise not use supplemental budgets but to ask Congress for money through established budgetary procedures. That would kick in pay-go and a member of Congress voting for funds to escalate expensive occupations of other countries would have to agree to either raise taxes on his or her constituents-- what do you think Boehner, Cantor, Pence, Ryan and other leading GOP warmongers will think of that?-- or cut back on social programs, a prospect none too attractive to many of the conservative and moderate Democrats who have gone along with Bush's outrageous supplemental budgeting and are thereby complicit in the economic disaster that has ensued.

I really thought "pay-go" was our ace-in-the-hole to stop the war in Afghanistan. Not even a political thug like Rahm Emanuel could bully and bribe enough Democrats and Republicans to go for this, especially not at a point when the war is as increasingly unpopular as it is. If the Senate doesn't kill the legislation that the House passed, it is, in effect, a vote for a war that will last until Obama is voted out of office. Please help Blue America build and strengthen a coalition of anti-war Democrats in Congress by contributing to No Means No.

(Everyone who donates today has their name entered in a drawing to win two items autographed by Al Franken, a copy of the book The Truth... With Jokes and a copy of a rare advance screener for his DVD God Spoke.

Way to go, Rep. Lee.