Politics Plus

Just about every time Jeff Merkley opens his mouth, I feel gratified over the volunteer time I spent on his campaign, helping to unseat the incumbent, Gordon Smith, the Republican who was progressive, but only when it didn’t matter.  In this editorial, Jeff earned his pay for the day.

For too long, tricks and traps in mortgages, credit cards, and other financial transactions have stripped wealth from working families. This is insane. Our policies should build the wealth and success of families, not undermine them.

That’s why one of the most important provisions of the Wall Street reform bill was the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). For years, American families have been taken to the cleaners by clever clauses written into fine print and legal gobbledy-gook. The CFPB will change this. Finally, there will be a cop on the beat who can make sure people get a fair shake.

This new consumer watchdog will only be effective, however, if it has strong leadership. There is no doubt in my mind that Elizabeth Warren is that leader… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Huffington Post>

I’ve known Rob online for years, mostly at BuzzFlash.  I know what he believes and I know how he thinks.  You may be surprised, because Rob is a third party candidate, and I have repeatedly said that voting for a third party candidate is voting Republican.  I’ll explain what makes this an exception to that rule, but first, here’s how Rob introduces himself.

I’m your neighbor

Just like everyone else throughout this 1st Congressional District of South Carolina, I want to live my life simply, comfortably and safely.  I want to wade through the waters on our shore, enjoy the charm and hospitality that are easily found all around us and sleep comfortably every night knowing I’ll be graced with the first rays of sunshine that waken our nation every morning.

Many issues need quick responses in order for us to properly enjoy these blessings, though, and these issues aren’t being addressed by the persons who entered the race for our congressional district.  While I’ve treasured every day that I’ve been fortunate enough to be your neighbor, this circumstance made me realize that I need to be something else, too – your congressional representative.

The reason I entered this race for the U.S. House of Representatives is a simple one: we have immediate needs that need immediate attention.

These issues, which include employment, education and our nation’s veterans, are still being overlooked by other candidates for this same office, however. They are either focusing on topics that have no relevance to our needs, introducing points with no validity or are simply issuing no statements on their goals and plans whatsoever. That’s not going to help us make the improvements we need in our community.

Well, neighbors, we need to focus on the issues – the real issues. And we need to focus on the solutions – the real solutions.

Yes, we may have problems in our country right now. But they are solvable problems. And the way to solve these problems is to go directly to their sources, and not with misdirecting falsehoods of absolutely no relevance.

Now, I’m no politician, but I know you’ll agree that’s not exactly a bad thing in this race.  I’m your neighbor.

And when you elect me to be your representative, I can make you one promise that will never be broken – I’ll be the best neighbor you ever had.

To learn more about the actual issues that are affecting us and what I’ll do to address them, please explore my Groce for Congress website.

Inserted from <Groce for Congress>

I also encourage you to click through and explore Rob’s site.

The reason that I’m supporting a third party candidate is because of the strange doings in South Carolina elections.

We’ve been keeping a close eye on the accusations and rumors coming out of South Carolina in recent days following a very strange Democratic primary. It’s far from clear whether any of the mysterious candidates who performed better than expected for being little known were “plants” or part of any larger plot.

Today House Majority Whip James Clyburn accused all three candidates he’s already suggested were “plants” of hiring Stonewall Strategies, a firm run by former aide to Rep. Joe Wilson. On MSNBC today charged that Democratic candidates Gregory Brown, Ben Frasier in SC-01 and Alvin Greene in the Senate race had employed Stonewall. Preston Grisham, who runs Stonewall, flatly denied the charge in an interview.

Clyburn (D-SC) has spent the last several days suggesting that something was amiss during Tuesday’s primary, during which Frasier and Greene prevailed despite a lack of campaigning and no recognition from the state Democratic party.

Clyburn has jumped on our investigation digging up that his own primary challenger, Brown, paid a Republican consulting firm nearly $24,000 on “marketing” expenses. Clyburn said that’s evidence there’s something shady going on since the firm Stonewall Strategies is run by Grisham, who until last fall was a longtime political operative for Wilson (R-SC)… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <TPM>

To call Rob’s opponent a DINO is an understatement.  From the looks of it, Joe “You Lie” Wilson has engineered placing Manchurian candidates in Rob’s district and others.  So, if either a Democrat or a Republican wins this race, SC-1 gets a Republican representative.  In such rare cases, a third party candidate is the only rational choice.

Though his chances are slim, given the locale, I hope he wins.  But if he beats me in our fantasy football league, I shall never endorse him again. 🙂

Rarely does a day pass that the Republicans do not serve up yet another example of how they have transformed into the party of hate.  Today’s choice is more extreme than most, and according to the polls, he has a 50-50 chance of being the NY gubernatorial nominee.

Carl Paladino, the Tea Party favorite for New York governor, is in hot water yet again.

As the Huffington Post uncovered last week, the multi-millionaire developer has a history of being "racially offensive" and putting forth derogatory comments. Today the blog WNYmedia.net published a series of bombshell emails that Paladino sent around or forwarded on to friends, associates and coworkers.

These emails run the gamut from your standard email chain smut to greatly disturbing racist imagery. Many of the latter type of emails targeted President Obama and his wife Michelle…

Inserted from <Huffington Post>

Rachel Maddow interviewed WNYmedia’s Marc Odien:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Sadly, this is a lot more widespread than this creep.  I have seen every one of the examples Rachel included before.  The scary part is not that this guy is running for office.  Any wing-nut can do that.  The scary part is that, even in NY, where Republicans used to be moderate, the Republicans may well choose him.

You all know that I have supported Elizabeth Warren to head the CFPB.  I have posted repeatedly on this and launched petitions from this site.  I have sais that appointing Warren is the easiest thing Obama could do to energize progressive support.  I have just learned that, built into the original financial reform legislation, there is authority to appoint an interim head of the CFPB, to jump-start the bureau.

President Obama is finally looking for bold, creative and clever ways to change the way the US economy operates — preferably with measures that will take effect by the November midterms and change the tone of the broader political debate. His tax proposals this week have some symbolic value, but in the broader sense all of these fiscal suggestions are tinkering at the margins.

What could he possibly do that would grab people’s attention, mobilize his political base and put his opponents on the defensive? There is an easy answer: Appoint Elizabeth Warren to start running the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) immediately.

And the brilliant part of this idea — as explained by Shahien Nasiripour at the Huffington Post (see also David Dayen’s Thursday coverage) — is that the Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation allows the person charged with setting up this new agency to be an outright appointment, rather than a nomination subject to Senate confirmation.

Warren’s credentials are impeccable — she came up with the original idea for the CFPB, she pushed effectively for it to become legislation and she has proved most effective in her oversight role as chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel (COP) for the Troubled Asset Relief Program. And her manifesto for the CFPB is sensible and actually pro-business — although she naturally opposes the specific ways in which big banks mistreat people.

No doubt Republicans in the Senate would try to derail her nomination to head the CFPB as they have done with numerous other nominations over the past year and a half. Their motivation would not be her views or expertise — she has earned serious Republican respect as a result of her COP role — but just part of their electoral strategy to block the president’s agenda and to undermine an agency they have consistently opposed.

The Treasury Secretary is explicitly authorized by an Act of Congress to pick an interim head for the new agency — with a view to getting it up and running immediately (in fact, what has he been waiting for?). Presumably the Senate (and the House) passed this specific measure expressly to expedite the CFPB’s work… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Alternet>

Now I do not doubt for a second that Timmy “GOP” Geithner does not want Elizabeth Warren at this post, but he has to Appoint her, if Obama orders him to do so, or resign (not a bad idea, either).  What better foil could their be to Republican greed, as wn move toward November, than to have Elizabeth Warren hard at work protecting consumers?