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This is why we can't have nice things. When a top campaign official not only admits, but boasts about spinning propaganda in the form of a campaign commercial, we're lost. Thomas Edsall of the New York Times got this straight from a top operative for the Romney campaign:

“First of all, ads are propaganda by definition. We are in the persuasion business, the propaganda business…. Ads are agitprop…. Ads are about hyperbole, they are about editing. It’s ludicrous for them to say that an ad is taking something out of context…. All ads do that. They are manipulative pieces of persuasive art.”

Of course ads are intended to persuade. But that doesn't really mean they should lie. As Heather pointed out, this was Lawrence O'Donnell's central point in his rewrite of the original ad. And Digby is even more pointed about it:

I'm not sure why we should be shocked by these Romney operatives taking credit for a dishonest campaign ad since operatives do it all the time, but I guess it's just the arrogant openness about their rank dishonesty that makes it remarkable:

[...]

Those Romney operatives aren't fools and they know they can get away with lying as long as the press decides they can get away with it. Whether it's because they want Romney to be the nominee or because it fits with their narrative about Obama or some combination of the two, they are very likely to let this pass or even allow it to become part of the CW, thus kicking in Cokie's Law, which says "it doesn't matter if it's true or not, it's out there." Fact checking only matters if the press wants it to matter.

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To listen to the Tea Party, you'd think government existed solely to do bad things to individual liberties, that it is incapable of doing anything good, and that the best government is no government. Right? Not so much.

Via Huffington Post:

WASHINGTON -- For years, Tennessee lawmakers have advocated for the construction of a major port on the northwest corner of the state on the Mississippi River. Known as the Port of Cates Landing, the project would include a 9,000-foot slack-water harbor, an adjacent 350-acre industrial park, improvements to local roads to connect it to U.S. Highway 78, and a short-line railroad to a larger rail line 28 miles away. It would, by some estimates, create thousands of jobs -- a much-needed boon for the Lake County region, 37.8 percent of whose residents live below the poverty line.

It also would cost a fair amount of cash. By the spring of 2011, more than $33 million had been invested in the project; an additional $20 million -- $13 million from the federal government, $7 million from the state of Tennessee -- was on its way. But as Congress, in an effort to avert a shutdown, began looking for federal expenditures to shave off the budget, Cates Landing's future suddenly became unclear. It was, among other transportation projects, on the chopping block.

Infrastructure! Yay, infrastructure! But wait. That district is represented by Republican freshman Stephen Fincher, a 'small government' Tea Party Republican. Bummer. No pork for the Tea Party, right? But wait.

On March 8, 2011, Gannett news service reported that the funding for Cates Landing was being targeted by lawmakers looking to slash the federal budget. The same day that report came out, Fincher spoke directly with Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood about the funds. The next day, he wrote a follow-up letter seeking assistance in "obligating" the $13 million grant for the port.

And behold, it worked. The grant was approved on March 18th. And then what did Fincher do?

Two days after writing LaHood, Fincher voted for the a Republican House budget that cut billions of dollars, including from many other transportation priorities. His office put out a press release scolding "out of control" and "reckless" federal spending.

As lawmakers prepare to cut trillions of dollars from the budget as a condition to raising the nation's debt ceiling, the story of the Cates Landing project underscores the dilemma that faces many members of the Republican-run House and the freshmen class in particular. Federal spending is derided as nothing short of a threat to the country's future -- unless, of course, it happens to be directed at that congressman's home district.

Gosh, we used to call that pork until the TeaPublicans decided pork was a bad thing and removed it -- and earmarks -- from consideration.

Fincher isn't the only one. The Huffington Post article mentions Bill Johnson (R-OH), Rick Crawford (R-AR), Joe Walsh (R-IL), Stephen Palazzo (R-MS), and Allen West (R-FL), among others.

Here's the thing. Infrastructure spending is one of the things government should be doing more of, not less. So I have no quibble with these Representatives acting in the best interests of their districts and requesting funds for legitimate projects which create jobs and make their districts a better place to live. More power to them. But please, don't do that and turn around and start posturing about government spending and how the President is an addict to it while thumping your chest about being a small government Tea Party type.

At least, don't do that and expect it to go unnoticed. It's funny to watch the Tea Party hacks spin it, though I wouldn't really count Mark Meckler as a legitimate spokesman for TeaPublicans in general:

"Obviously there is going to be infrastructure spending, and one of the jobs of a Representative is to represent their district," said Mark Meckler, co-founder of Tea Party Patriots. "I would say that we should be paying close attention to this process of petitioning federal agencies [for money] … But I don't think anybody is saying that when the federal government is spending money, that no congressman should try to fund projects his district needs. I think what they are saying is we don't want egregious, crazy, pork barrel spending."

What is egregious, crazy, pork barrel spending, exactly? Where I live, the Recovery Act funds are being used to widen the 101 freeway, something that's been desperately needed for years. Farther south, the 405 freeway (a black traffic hole if ever one existed) is being widened and bridges retrofitted for earthquakes. Is that egregious, crazy, pork barrel spending? Or is it only egregious when it funds a project in a Democrat's district?

Here's what is undeniable. Whether they like it or not, TeaPublicans are, through their actions, endorsing what many of us already know: Government can do good things.

Think Progress has evidence that FreedomWorks, Dick Armey's army of teabaggers and patriots, was used to build grassroots support for their offshore drilling initiatives.

While BP has spent hundreds of millions building its brand, it has offshored the dirty work of promoting expanded drilling to right-wing front groups and trade associations. In a 2007 PowerPoint presentation obtained by ThinkProgress, BP appears to have been interested in fighting to open up protected waters to new offshore drilling. The presentation, organized by the BP-funded front group “Consumer Energy Alliance,” was delivered at the American Gas Association’s marketing meeting in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. The presentation calls for a five-year plan to build grassroots support to open wide swaths of both the East and West coasts to new drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf: (read more...)

No! Say it isn't so. After all, FreedomWorks condemned the federal government, the Obama administration and just about everyone else on their hit list in defense of BP just two days ago, accusing them of putting their boots on the neck of industry.

This shouldn't surprise anyone who has been paying attention, but what it proves beyond all doubt to me is how similar the Dick Armey model is to the Jack Abramoff and Michael Scanlon model. The Freedomworks' grassroots movement-building prototype is nearly a carbon copy of the Scanlon pitch for the combined PR/lobbying effort to Indian tribes.

The Abramoff-Scanlon Model

It goes like this: Scanlon sells the tribes on a full-service political solution to reach their goal. Here's the opener from a pitch to Michigan tribes:

The sell is a plan to 'form an army'. This army will, of course, be formed by the Scanlon-Abramoff team and will consist databases and campaigns created via targeted polls, databases, mailings, and 'grassroots' efforts. In the Abramoff model, Ralph Reed, Grover Norquist, and even Dick Armey were the go-to people for grassroots. One example used Reed's Christian Right groups to oppose one tribe's efforts to open a casino so Abramoff and Scanlon could pick up the pieces and convince that tribe to turn the verdict around using their services.

Here's one of their schemes with Grover Norquist in the center:

The money would then flow through non-profits to the pockets of Abramoff, Scanlon, Reed, Grover Norquist, and Dick Armey. Here's an excerpt outlining Grover Norquist's requirements for supplying grassroots support:

When pressed for details by the client on what a $50,000 contribution to Grover's organization will buy, Abramoff responds: "everything they need for him to do to win."

How noble of these slimy characters not to want to tip their opponents to think they're trying to buy the taxpayer movement even while admitting they are doing that very thing.

The FreedomWorks Model

From ThinkProgress again:

Slide 14 lists the groups involved in doing grassroots outreach. Under “affiliated groups,” FreedomWorks — a right-wing “grassroots” group that helped plan the tea parties and continues to lobby aggressively against clean energy reform — is listed along with the 60 Plus Association, the American Conservative Union, and others. U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Petroleum Institute are some of the trade associations involved. Slide 14 also shows that BP is one of the member companies supporting the campaign.

Not a lot of difference between the two. Ralph Reed routinely rented out the Christian Right for Abramoff's causes. Now Dick Armey does it for his own causes. It would be interesting to know how much of Freedomworks Foundation's 2007 donations of $4 million were from BP. Or the percentage of the almost-$3 million donated in 2008. Of course, if they waited until 2009 to make the payoff, we might have awhile to wait before we know.

This is how right-wing grassroots armies are made. One dollar at a time.

Capital Eye: Desperate to get of the hook for their serial lawlessness, the telephone utility industry spent at least $31.4 million lobbying in 2007.

Needlenose: What if they built a "Rule of Law Complex" and nobody came?

BOT! The blood thinning drug Heparin has been recalled due to contamination. FDA inspectors last week found quality-control problems at the Chinese factory, a facility the agency had never before inspected - in violation of its own rules.

Bad Astronomy: Possible McCain running mate

MyDD: Speak for yourself.

HOLY CRAP: And this is why it's called "Holy Crap"...Christian Candidate Quiz Bowl...Prayer Brawl...More Bush Family support of Rev. Moon...Rediscovering or revising Islam?...Fringe-dwelling fundie threatens Obama...Critics question White House's Faith-Based report....Jefferson Bible...This is good news...Buckley's Big Mistake...The man McCain is ‘very proud' to be associated with...The Bible can mean anything you want...Darwin strikes again!

Rockridge Nation:

In his mission to ensure that the arc of the moral universe bends toward justice, Dr. King took a decidedly long view, focusing not on mere lobbying for the legislation of the day, but on defining the moral imperatives of the nation to compel action for generations to come. Progress tends to be fragile and often proves illusory when it is the product of political insiders who fail to engage the broader citizenry. Dr. King, by contrast, led by revealing the hidden truths, narratives, and moral premises that compel action. Read on...

(Guest blogged by Bill W)

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Steve wrote about this scandal previously, now the author is now speaking out and giving more details. Just four days ago Speaker Nancy Pelosi was calling for Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Acting Chairman Nancy Nord to resign after she fired off a couple of letters to Congress opposing tougher legislation that would strengthen the agency that is supposed to oversee the safety of consumer goods, echoing White House concerns that favored industry profits over the health and welfare of consumers, especially children in the wake of recall after recall and the revelation that the CPSC has only one full-time employee that tests toys.

Well, as it turns out, Nancy Nord should have taken Pelosi's advice and left to spend more time with her family while the getting was good. CNN had WaPo's Elizabeth Williamson on to discuss her article today which reveals that Nord "and her predecessor have taken dozens of trips at the expense of the toy, appliance and children's furniture industries and others they regulate" while parents were buying millions of lead-tainted toys. Some of the trips "were sponsored by lobbying groups and lawyers representing the makers of products linked to consumer hazards."

Earlier this week, we learned that the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which is responsible for reviewing thousands of consumer products to look for potential health risks, wants less money, a smaller staff, and weaker rules for product safety. Given recent events — most notably, toys from China with lead “issues” — the CPSC should want the opposite, but the agency that Bush has undermined for nearly seven years is apparently disinterested in the interests of consumers.

The obvious assumption is that the White House has stacked the CPSC with hacks and ideologues who oppose safety regulations for political purposes. As it turns out, the truth might be even worse.

The chief of the Consumer Product Safety Commission and her predecessor have taken dozens of trips at the expense of the toy, appliance and children’s furniture industries and others they regulate, according to internal records obtained by The Washington Post. Some of the trips were sponsored by lobbying groups and lawyers representing the makers of products linked to consumer hazards.

The records document nearly 30 trips since 2002 by the agency’s acting chairman, Nancy Nord, and the previous chairman, Hal Stratton, that were paid for in full or in part by trade associations or manufacturers of products ranging from space heaters to disinfectants. The airfares, hotels and meals totaled nearly $60,000, and the destinations included China, Spain, San Francisco, New Orleans and a golf resort on Hilton Head Island, S.C.

In response to the news, House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel nailed it: “Now we know why Nancy Nord opposes efforts to give the Consumer Product Safety Commission more resources: Who needs more resources when the industries you regulate will pay your expenses for you? After taking dozens of trips on the industry dime, it is now time for Mrs. Nord to take a permanent vacation from her post.”

Talk to Action:

Kenneth Blackwell, the former secretary of state of Ohio and defeated contender for Governor, has been hired on as a "Senior Fellow for Family Empowerment" at Washington's premiere right wing religious lobbying outfit, The Family Research Council. "He is credited with being part of the team that helped double President George W. Bush's vote count among Blacks in Ohio in 2004, and is charged, by critics, of having tampered with that vote." read more...

From The Largest Minority:

The United States is the only industrialized nation where hemp is not an established crop, much to the delight of oil, coal, and chemical industries which benefit from the ban.

Cultivation of hemp is currently illegal under US federal law thanks to the lobbying of the aforementioned groups. The California Narcotic Officers’ Association has testified that the passage of such a bill would only make law enforcement more difficult because farmers might hide illegal marijuana in their legal hemp fields. I could be wrong, but it seems like this association is either admitting that they’re too incompetent to do their jobs correctly, or they’re making the case for the legalization of marijuana so that they’re not forced to make the distinction. Either way, I say let the layoffs begin.

Int'l Herald Tribune:

The U.S. Senate has given final approval to a far-reaching package of new ethics and lobbying rules, with an overwhelming majority of Republicans and Democrats agreeing to better police the relationship between lawmakers and lobbyists.

If President George W. Bush signs the bill into law, which administration officials indicated he would, members of Congress would face a battery of new restrictions. The legislation, approved by the Senate on Thursday on a vote of 83-14, calls for bans on gifts, meals and travel paid for by lobbyists and makes it more difficult for lawmakers to quickly capitalize on their connections when joining the private sector.

The measure, which grew out of scandals that have tarnished the image of Congress, represents a cultural shift in the traditions of Capitol Hill. While proponents hailed the measure as the most significant reform since Watergate, questions remained on how some provisions would be enforced and whether the measure would change lawmakers' ability to secure pet projects known as earmarks.