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January 26, 2012 Issue 729

ON THE RECORD....

“... someone who has lived in the real streets of America.” -- Romney, failing to mention whether those “real streets” are the ones by Romney’s beach house in California, his mansion in New Hampshire, or his multi-million dollar “colonial” in Massachusetts. 1.19.12

“Two years ago, the Supreme Court handed down one of the worst, and most radically activist decisions in the Court’s history, Citizens United. Overturning more than a century of settled law, and with an unprecedented naiveté of the political process, the Court charted a course for legalized bribery.” -- Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and former Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) on the Citizens United ruling. 01-20-2012

“Only way for Mitt to look more like embodiment of wealth is to wear a top hat and monocle (thank God he doesn’t smoke cigars!)” -- Jeff Greenfield 1.17.12

Laura Ingraham: Isn't it a hard argument to make if you are saying he inherited this recession and he took a bunch of steps to try to turn the economy around, now we are seeing some more jobs, but vote against him anyways? Isn't that a hard argument to make? Is that a stark enough contrast?
Mitt Romney: Have you got a better one Laura? It just happens to be the truth. .... (video) 1.20.12

“One or two more defeats and who knows what he's going to say....I think he's been dancing on eggs trying to find a version of Romney that will work." -- Newt Gingrich, about GOP presidential rival Mitt Romney.

"My view all along has been that any remotely plausible candidate could beat Mitt Romney. My current view is that there are no remotely plausible candidates, which leaves us with Newt." -- Jonathan Chait 1.21.12

“But above it all we can hear the weeping, the wailing, the gnashing of teeth of the Republican establishment as Gingrich's victory sends them into full-blown panic. I'm not talking about mere fear, nor normal nervousness. Not even the feeling you get when the captain says, "We've lost power in one of our four engines." No, this is worse. Worse even than when your doctor says, "I don't like the looks of that shadow on the X-ray." This is terror. Chest-clutching, breath-sucking, soul-shaking panic. This is your teenage daughter telling you, "I think I'm in trouble." This is a Turkish border guard pulling you into a holding room when you've got a baggie of coke in your pocket. This is what George H.W. Bush famously called "deep doo-doo." -- Paul Begala on the Republican establishment’s response to Newt’s win in S.C. 1.21.12

“Can you have a Republican nominee who can play into the class warfare argument that the president wants to play in general?” -- NBC’s David Gregory, the host of Meet the Press, who apparently believing the GOP's President Obama “wants to play” the “class warfare" argument. 1.22.12

“In an election campaign that will be in part about issues of inequality, the likely GOP candidate is a living, breathing, coupon-clipping example of how favorable our system is to the very rich; and he also happens to be advocating policies that would greatly benefit people like him, while hurting the poor and the middle class.” -- Paul Krugman 1.24.12

“I might have tacos when I go home.” -- East Haven Mayor Joseph Maturo (R) on what he would do for the Latino community in the aftermath of four police officers being charged with violating the civil rights of Latino residents. 1.24.12

“We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by, or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules.” -- President Obama in his State of the Union speech. 1.24.12

"Well, the banks aren't bad people. They're just overwhelmed right now." -- Mitt Romney, continuing his habit of comparing companies to people. 1.24.12

“I think you have to live in a world of Swiss Bank accounts and Cayman Island havens to have an idea this far from reality,” Gingrich said. “[It] shows no concern for the humanity of people already here.” -- Newt Gingrich on Romney’s idea of self-deportation. 1.25.12

IN THIS ISSUE

FYI

1. Republicans Don't Trust Anyone (Except Fox News)
2. Republicans still believe Barack Obama is a Muslim
3. DNC Ad: Bain vs. Detroit
4. Romney IRA’s Offshore Investments: Helping His Tax Bill?
5. Elizabeth Warren onThe Daily Show
6. Ann Telnaes: Newt’s Transformation (animation)
7. Our Citizens United Supreme Court Action: ‘The US Supreme Koch’ (video)
8. State of the Union Speech: Obama Risks Alienating Republicans By Using Facts
9. From MEDIA MATTERS
10. Late Night Jokes for Dems
11. Stephen Colbert Rally at the College of Charleston
12. The DAILY GRILL
13. Mitt Romney’s TOP FIVE Tax Giveaways to the Wealthy
14. Romney Explains How Obamacare Isn't Socialism
15. Andrew Adler, 'Atlanta Jewish Times' Publisher, Apologizes For Obama Assassination Comments
16. Rich Kids For Romney
17. DNC Ad: An Ordinary Swiss Account

O PINION

1. Peter Beinart: Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney and GOP Forget Iraq Mistake in Push for Iran War
2. Greg Sargent: Romney’s tax plan would cut his own taxes by nearly half
3. Bill McKibben: Obama’s Denial of Keystone Permit Was a Welcome Win Against Big Oil
4. Dana Milbank: For House Republicans, a game of debt charades
5. Greg Sargent: Pushing back on comparisons between Bain and the auto rescue
6. Howard Schweber: Newt Gingrich and the Politics of Resentment
7. PAUL KRUGMAN: Taxes at the Top
8. Eugene Robinson: Republicans with a one-track mind
9. Norman Ornstein: Effect of Citizens United Felt Two Years Later
10. David Frum: Mitt Romney Has Signed Paul Ryan’s Suicide Note
11. James Carville: GOP: You have a disaster on your hands
12. Ezra Klein: What are Newt Gingrich’s big ideas?


FYI

1. Republicans Don't Trust Anyone (Except Fox News)

Public Policy Polling is out with their 3rd annual TV news trust poll. Republicans, as the following chart shows, don't trust anyone except Fox News, who they adore. These numbers are spreads, with NBC, for example, garnering 17% trust vs. 69% distrust. Fox News, conversely, garners 73% trust vs. 17% distrust. Democrats and independents trust everything- except Fox News.

Main takeaway from this poll: TV news has become just as polarizing as the political parties in this country. Kevin Drum 1.19.12 Details at http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2012/01/3rd-annual-tv-news-trust-poll.html

2. Republicans still believeBarack Obama is a Muslim

The latest YouGov poll finds that 35 percent of Republicans believe Barack Obama is a Muslim. 11 percent of Democrats and 16 percent of Independents believe the same. http://cdn.yougov.com/downloads/releases/econ/20120114_econTabReport.pdf

3. DNC Ad: Bain vs. Detroit

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=pfNUlbgsmdo

4. Romney IRA’s Offshore Investments: Helping His Tax Bill?

Mitt Romney’s campaign has attacked an ABC News report on the candidate’s offshore investments, saying his holdings in the Cayman Islands and elsewhere have no effect on the amount he pays in U.S. taxes.

But the campaign’s assertions may be wrong or misleading. Tax experts said some of the offshore holdings are likely intended to help Mr. Romney avoid paying an obscure but hefty tax of as much as 35% on some of those investments, held in a tax-deferred retirement account. Mark Maremont http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2012/01/19/romney-iras-offshore-investments-helping-his-tax-bill/

Romney’s2010 tax return, which offers a partial snapshot of his vast personal fortune, is at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/documents/romney-2010-tax-return.html?hpid=z1

5. Elizabeth Warren onThe Daily Show

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-january-24-2012/elizabeth-warren

6. Ann Telnaes: Newt’s Transformation (animation)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/newts-transformation/2012/01/22/gIQA9tbYJQ_video.html

7. Our Citizens United Supreme Court Action: ‘The US Supreme Koch’ (video)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4Nqv1JH5kbI

8. State of the Union Speech: Obama Risks Alienating Republicans By Using Facts

In what some critics are calling the most radial tactic ever employed in a State of the Union Address, President Barack Obama risked alienating congressional Republicans last night by repeatedly using facts.

Mr. Obama stirred controversy throughout the speech with his relentless references to facts, data, and things that have actually happened, all long considered the third rail of American politics.

As the President made reference to tax rates and unemployment numbers, as well as sixteen separate mentions of Osama bin Laden, congressional Republicans’ blood began to boil.

After the speech, a furious Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters, “It’s been a longstanding tradition in our politics not to use facts in a State of the Union Address, a tradition the President chose to ignore in an outrageous way tonight. I won’t stand for it and the American people won’t stand for it.”

“We want to work with the President for the good of the American people,” added House Speaker John Boehner. “But he’s going to have to take facts off the table. That’s a deal-breaker for us.” More at http://www.borowitzreport.com

9. From MEDIA MATTERS

Limbaugh: "Everybody Has An Angry Ex-Spouse"http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201201190006

Kilmeade Decides: Obama Admin's Decision On Keystone XL Pipeline Is An "Outrage" http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201201190004

Pushing Keystone Jobs Myth, Fox's Shadegg Claims Obama's Motto Is, "I Don't Care About Your Pain" http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201201190002

Hannity: Obama Won't Release "His College Transcripts, His Writings," Because He "Probably Expressed His Radical Views" http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201201180021

Hannity, Crowley Agree Obama Is "Food Stamp President," Deny A Racial Aspect To Charge http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201201180020

Tantaros: GOP Only Gets 5 Percent Of The African American Vote Because Democrats Do "A Lot Of Brainwashing" http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201201180018

Limbaugh: The Media "Hate" Conservatives "More Than They Hate The Taliban ... Al Qaeda" http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201201200012

Herman Cain: Media Used "Lies" To Force Me Out, Now They're Throwing The "Same Crap" At Gingrich http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201201200010

Huckabee Wants To Know If Obama Got College Loans "As A Foreign Student" http://mediamatters.org/blog/201201200016

Hannity: "Media Elites" Will Be Cowed In Future GOP Debates, "Scared To Death" Of Being "John King-ed" http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201201200018

Limbaugh: Obama Is A "Dangerous President," An "Angry ... Crony Capitalist With A Huge Chip On His Shoulder" http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201201200013

Hannity Praises Gingrich And His "Extended Standing Ovation" For Attacking John King http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201201200017

Kilmeade: Obama Will "Bring Up The Class Warfare Stuff" In His State Of The Union Address http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201201230003

Fox & Friends Again Calls For Tax Hike On Poor http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201201250007

Fox's Ramsey: "Last Night Our President Declared War On Success"http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201201250006

Doocy: "When You Look At" Obama's Economic Record, "It's So Bad, He Can't Really Run On It" http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201201250003

Doocy: Obama Used "Warren Buffett's Secretary To Kick Off His Class Warfare Campaign" http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201201250002

Fox Panel Drools Over Daniels: "One Of The Best" Response Speeches, "Funny," "Direct," "Quite Impressive" http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201201240016

Wallace On Daniels Response: "A Star Is Born" http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201201240015

10. Late Night Jokes for Dems

"I have not seen anything this surreal since they cancelled 'Twin Peaks.' What else can you say about a Republican debate when the rich guy, who’s avoiding taxes – which they like, gets booed and the fat creep into threesomes gets a standing ovation?" –Bill Maher, on Romney and Gingrich in the CNN debate

"Newt said this is despicable to ask these questions. Why are we dwelling on the past? We should be concentrating on the future and putting America's children back to work." –Bill Maher

"Meanwhile, at the debate, Mitt Romney's got a look on his face like, 'Three women at once? Who's the Mormon in this race?'" –Bill Maher

"New Rule: Someone has to tell Francesco Schettino that embracing a callous policy of "every man for himself" doesn't make you a sea captain. It makes you the Republican nominee." -Bill Maher

"New Rule: The NAACP must take Newt Gingrich up on his offer to stand in front of the their convention and tell them why black people should want jobs instead food stamps. This way I can finally answer a question that's been bugging me for years: can Newt Gingrich run?" –Bill Maher

"Scientists announced that they have detected a brand new subatomic particle. This particle is so tiny, it's actually smaller than the income tax rate paid by Mitt Romney." –Jay Leno

"Actually, Rick Perry pulled out of the presidential race yesterday - which is bad news for the guys on death row in Texas. He's coming home and he's not in a good mood." –Jay Leno

"Yesterday Rick Perry endorsed Newt Gingrich, saying Newt isn't perfect, but who is? To which Donald Trump said, 'I am!'" –Jay Leno

"Newt Gingrich was cheating on his second wife while he was prosecuting Bill Clinton for the Monica Lewinsky thing. In other words, Newt puts the 'hippo' in 'Hypocrite.'" –Jimmy Kimmel

"Gingrich is lining up impressive endorsements. Todd Palin, Gary Busey, and now, Chuck Norris. I'll tell you, his endorsements could beat up Mitt Romney's endorsements." –Jimmy Kimmel

"During a debate, Mitt Romney said he grew up in the real streets of America. Yes, the real streets, where people pull up next to you and ask if you have any Grey Poupon." –Jimmy Kimmel

"Yesterday in Florida, President Obama kissed a woman on the cheek after she told him he looks good. Which explains why last night, Michelle made him sleep on Air Mattress One." –Jimmy Fallon

"Rick Perry dropped out of the presidential race. When asked what went wrong, Perry said, I guess America is not ready to elect a dumb guy from Texas. But in time." –Conan O'Brien

"Rick Perry has dropped out of the presidential race. Apparently, America did not want a conservative, gun happy, intellectually challenged governor of Texas for president. At least not again." –Jay Leno

At the debate the other night, Mitt Romney said he is not an avid hunter, but he is happy to go along if someone invites him to go hunting. To which Newt Gingrich said, "Hey, maybe you can tag along with Dick Cheney." –Jay Leno

"Tonight was the CNN primary debate with the four remaining candidates. It was kind of a change for Newt Gingrich. Usually when he's arguing with three people at once, it's his wife, his ex-wife, and his mistress." –Jay Leno

"The only difference between Mitt Romney and a statue of Mitt Romney is that the statue never changes in position," -- Stephen Colbert

"Mitt Romney is coming under fire because even though he is a multimillionaire, he only paid 15 percent in taxes. That's not a tax, that's barely a tip." –Jay Leno

"Mitt Romney is quite a guy. At one point he and his wife bought a zoo and fired all the animals." –David Letterman

"Mitt Romney, whose father was born in Mexico, is now talking up his Mexican heritage. Not to be outdone today, Newt Gingrich said he once cheated on one of his wives with a woman named Juanita." –Jay Leno

"Newt Gingrich has released a new ad attacking Mitt Romney because he knows how to speak French. Well Mitt Romney is not the only one. Jon Huntsman speaks Chinese and Rick Perry speaks gibberish." –Jay Leno

"At the last Republican debate, Mitt Romney talked about his love of hunting. In fact, Romney said on his last hunting trip, he shot three dear and fired two elk." –Conan O'Brien

Mitt Romney on MSNBC: "If we coordinate (with a super PAC) in any way whatsoever, we go to the big house."Jon Stewart: "Which one of your big houses do you go to: the beach house or the ski chalet?"

11. Indecision 2012

Colbert Report: Herman Cain’s Bitter-Sweet South Carolina Victory: http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/406663/january-23-2012/indecision-2012---herman-cain-s-bitter-sweet-south-carolina-victory

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart: The Gingrich Who Stole South Carolina: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-january-23-2012/indecision-2012---the-gingrich-who-stole-south-carolina

12. The DAILY GRILL

"As for what to do for the housing industry specifically, and are there things that you can do to encourage housing? One is don’t try and stop the foreclosure process. Let it run its course and hit the bottom." - Mitt Romney during a discussion with the editorial board of the Las Vegas Review Journal. 10.18.11

VERSUS

"The idea that somehow this [the mortgage foreclosure crisis] is going to cure itself all by itself is probably not real. There’s going to have to be a much more concerted effort to work with the lending institutions and help them take action which is in their best interest and the best interest of the homeowners." -- Mitt Romney 1.23.12

13. Mitt Romney’s TOP FIVE Tax Giveaways to the Wealthy

This is a list of some of the most egregious tax loopholes and giveaways Mitt Romney preserves in his tax plan.

The ‘Carried Interest’ Handout to Hedge Fund & Private Equity Managers. Cost: $15 BILLION (Fiscal Years 2012-2012)

Offshore Tax Havens. Cost: $100 BILLION Annually

Taxing Capital Gains at a Lower Rate Than Ordinary Income. Cost: $256 BILLION (Fiscal Years 2012-2016)

Mortgage Interest Deduction on Second Homes & Yachts. Cost: $10 BILLION (Fiscal Years 2012-21)

Failing to Limit ‘Upside Down’ Itemized Deductions That Favor the Wealthiest Americans. Cost: $114 BILLION (Fiscal Years 2012-2016)

Details at http://thinkprogress.org/progress-report/mitt-romneys-top-five-tax-giveaways-to-the-rich/

14. Romney Explains How Obamacare Isn't Socialism

First of all, the system in my state is not a government-run system. Ninety-eight — 92 percent of the people had their own insurance before the system was put in place, and nothing changed for them. They still had the same private insurance. And the 8 percent of the uninsured, they bought private insurance, not government insurance. And the people in the state still favor the plan three to one. -- Mitt Romney during the S. Carolina debate

Romney's right. Massachusetts doesn't have a "government-run" health insurance system. It has a government-regulated health insurance market in which individuals are compelled to buy their own insurance. That's exactly what the Affordable Care Act has, too. If Obamacare is socialism, then so is Romneycare. And if Romneycare is the distilled essence of free market capitalism, then Obamacare is, too.— Adam Serwer 1.20,.12 http://motherjones.com/mojo/2012/01/romney-explains-how-obamacare-isnt-socialism

15. Andrew Adler, 'Atlanta Jewish Times' Publisher, Apologizes For Obama Assassination Comments

Andrew Adler, the owner of the Atlanta Jewish Times, has apologized after suggesting that assassinating President Barack Obama is an option that should be considered by the Israeli government.

Adler's article, written earlier this month, describes the urgency in protecting the Israeli people from threats such as Hamas and Hezbollah and argues that there are essentially only three options available to Israel: 1. attack Hezbollah and Hamas; 2. "order the destruction of Iran's nuclear facilities at all costs;" 3. assassinate Obama. 1.20.12 Read more at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/20/andrew-adler-atlanta-jewish-times-obama-assassination_n_1219720.html

16. Rich Kids For Romney

http://www.5min.com/Video/Kids-Endorse-a-Presidential-Candidate-517251628

17. DNC Ad: An Ordinary Swiss Account

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Prt50o-6yi4


OPINION

1. Peter Beinart: Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney and GOP Forget Iraq Mistake in Push for Iran War

It’s no secret that American political culture often suffers from amnesia. Still, there’s something amazing about the fact that Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney can breezily advocate war with Iran without ever having to explain what their support for the Iraq War says about their judgment on matters of war and peace.

In a debate last November, Gingrich said that if other methods fail, “you have to take whatever steps are necessary to break its [the Iranian government’s] capacity to have a nuclear weapon.” He’s also promised to nominate as his secretary of state former Bush administration United Nations ambassador John Bolton, a man who has said that the only remaining “option is to take preemptive military action to break Iran’s program.”

This is the same Gingrich who soon after Sept. 11 said that “if we don’t use this as the moment to replace Saddam after we replace the Taliban, we are setting the stage for disaster.” In 2003, Gingrich lauded Donald Rumsfeld while declaring that the lesson of the Iraq War was that the State Department—the one institution whose intelligence agency warned that Saddam did not have weapons of mass destruction—had failed.

Then there’s Rick Santorum, who has said the U.S. should “degrade those [Iran’s] facilities through airstrikes.” Back in 2003, Santorum demanded that the U.S. invade Iraq to stop “the rise of radical Islam.” Santorum never quite explained how Saddam Hussein—a secularist who enjoyed torturing ayatollahs to death—represented “radical Islam.” But that was only the beginning of Santorum’s inanities, which included a 2002 assurance that, “There is a parallel between today’s situation [with Iraq] and the situation that confronted the civilized Western World of the 1930s” and a 2006 insistence that the Iraq War was part of America’s decision to “retaliate for the damage” done on 9/11.

And let’s not forget Mitt Romney, who last November argued that if sanctions and covert action fail, “then of course you take military action” against Iran. In 2008, he said, just as glibly, that “It was the right decision to go into Iraq. I supported it at the time; I support it now.”

The point is not that candidates who support a failed war should be disqualified from high office. Plenty of people mistakenly supported the Iraq War, including me. But surely the media should make Gingrich, Santorum and Romney explain what they’ve learned from being wrong, and why we should trust them again. 1.23.12 Read more at http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/01/23/newt-gingrich-mitt-romney-gop-forget-iraq-mistake-in-push-for-iran-war.html

2. Greg Sargent: Romney’s tax plan would cut his own taxes by nearly half

The revelation that Mitt Romney pays a tax rate of around 15 percent opens the door to another question: How much would his own taxes fall under the tax plan he would pass if elected president?

Here’s the answer, according to a new analysis by Citizens for Tax Justice, under Romney’s plan, Romney in 2013 would see his taxes cut by nearly half of what they would be if you use current law as a baseline.

Another way to put this: If Romney, whose wealth is estimated at as much as $250 million, is elected president and gets his way on tax policy, he would pay barely more than half as much in taxes than he would if Obama is reelected and gets his way — and the Bush tax cuts on the wealthy expire and an additional Medicare tax as part of the Affordable Care Act kicks in. 1/18/12 Read more at http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/romneys-tax-plan-would-cut-his-own-taxes-by-nearly-half-new-analysis-finds/2012/01/18/gIQAHruH8P_blog.html

3. Bill McKibben: Obama’s Denial of Keystone Permit Was a Welcome Win Against Big Oil

I wrote the first book on global warming way back in 1989, so I know for a fact that there have been very few days in the last two decades when the scientists have been smiling and big oil scowling. When the president denied the permit for Keystone XL on Wednesday, he didn’t just turn the usual balance of power upside down, he turned the conventional wisdom more or less on its head—as late as October, a National Journal poll of 300 D.C. “energy insiders” showed 91 percent predicting that the pipeline would be approved.

The victory is of course a tribute to people who set aside their natural cynicism about the possibility of change and instead went to jail in record numbers, wrote public comments in record numbers, surrounded the White House shoulder to shoulder five deep. They managed to bring reality to the forefront for once, and that reality—the leaky pipeline, the oil destined for export, the carbon overload from the tar sands—managed to trump, for now, the bottomless pockets of the fossil fuel industry. Read more at http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/01/18/obama-s-denial-of-keystone-permit-was-a-welcome-win-against-big-oil.html

4. Dana Milbank: For House Republicans, a game of debt charades

Lawmakers went home for the holidays and got an earful from constituents about their juvenile behavior in Washington.

So, in their first major act of 2012, House Republicans picked up exactly where they left off: They staged a duplicitous debate in which they pretended that they were going to deny President Obama permission to increase the government’s borrowing limit.

The pretense had been clear since last summer, when 174 House Republicans voted for a budget deal that guaranteed that the debt limit would continue to increase this year unless two-thirds of the House and Senate voted otherwise — a practical impossibility.

But that didn’t stop many of those same 174 Republicans from marching to the floor to vote for a resolution “disapproving” of the very same debt-limit increase they had already blessed. It was a model of deception: claiming to oppose something they had guaranteed would take effect. 1.18.12 Read more at http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/for-house-republicans-a-game-of-debt-charades/2012/01/18/gIQASbQI9P_story.html

5. Greg Sargent: Pushing back on comparisons between Bain and the auto rescue

When confronted with his record at Bain Capital, Mitt Romney likes to compare what he did at the company to Obama’s bailout of the auto industry. Romney has repeatedly said he’ll draw this comparison in the months ahead and make it central to his defense of his Bain years in the general election.

Now Dems are escalating their efforts to undermine that comparison, launching a new campaign that includes Web videos, press conferences by surrogates, emails and social media.

The move reflects a recognition by Dems that this argument will be central to the campaign — and that they need to move quickly to undermine the case Romney is already making on the campaign trail, in case it could have appeal to swing voters.

The Obama argument is that government has a crucial role in addressing the inequality that has resulted from unfettered free market capitalism and in shoring up the shrinking middle class. Romney’s argument is that his Bain years have taught him that rolling back government interference in the economy is the best way to unshackle the power of the private sector, increasing social mobility and shared prosperity. Exhibit A for Obama is the successful auto rescue, which is why Romney is so eager to muddy the waters by casting it as similar to his own efforts.

And so the argument over the auto-bailout, and Romney’s comparison of it to his Bain work, feeds into the larger clash of ideologies that will drive Campaign 2012, another reason it’s so crucial. 1/19/12 Read more at http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/pushing-back-on-comparisons-between-bain-and-the-auto-rescue/2012/01/19/gIQA9cC6AQ_blog.html

6. Howard Schweber: Newt Gingrich and the Politics of Resentment

Gingrich and his supporters do not oppose Obama, they resent the fact of his existence. He will speak for his constituents by articulating their resentments in more strident, more combative, more articulate terms than they can themselves, which is why they find him brilliant. Ron Paul's supporters find him brilliant because he reduces the complexities of the world into easy soundbites. Gingrich does that too, but he does much more -- he tells them that their nastiest, darkest, angriest, most irrational self-indulgent justifications are 100%, absolutely right. It's a negative version of a politics of self-esteem: not that you are right to feel good about yourself, but that you are right to be resentful of everyone else.

The worldview is Manichean: Obama's economic policies are not mistaken, he is deliberately trying to make Americans poorer. Obama's foreign policy is not misguided, he is deliberately trying to surrender America to foreign powers. And Obama is not merely not one of the people, he wants to destroy American culture. It is a perfect expression of what Richard Hofstadter called "the paranoid style" in American politics. But it's a weirdly infantilized version of that style.

When Gingrich talks I hear Rowdy Roddy Piper in They Live: "I am here to kick ass and chew bubble gum, and I am all out of bubble gum." Gingrich is the WWF version of a national politician, playing out an over-the-top script where the championship belt would belong to us except we were cheated and the refs are crooked and this time we're bringing the folding chair into the ring and that'll show 'em! It's infantilizing in just the way that professional wrestling is pitched to a 12-year-old boy's sensibilities (have you seen those costumes?). Gingrich frequently give the impression of a child about to have a tantrum, and that's just fine -- tantrums are all about resentment. It's not quite the same thing as anger, not even righteous anger -- this is more personal, more envious, more spiteful. The difference between anger and resentment is the difference between "this injustice shall not stand" and "it's not faaaaairrr." Romney wants to be the grownup in the room -- Newt wants to be the bad boy in the corner.

And that's why these voters don't care that Gingrich was a Washington insider, or has a record on family values that would give pause to one of the Borgia popes. It's why they don't really care that he contradicts himself, or says crazy things. They want crazy. They want to hear their anger and resentment made into a national platform. They are the victims of an evil conspiracy -- no one plays the victim better than Gingrich when cornered -- and they resent it. 1.23.12 Read more at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/howard-schweber/newt-gingrich_b_1225572.html

7. PAUL KRUGMAN: Taxes at the Top

Call me peculiar, but I’m actually enjoying the spectacle of Mitt Romney doing the Dance of the Seven Veils — partly out of voyeurism, of course, but also because it’s about time that we had this discussion.

The theme of his dance, for those who haven’t been paying attention, is taxes — his own taxes. Although disclosure of tax returns is standard practice for political candidates, Mr. Romney has never done so, and, at first, he tried to stonewall the issue even in a presidential race. Then he said that he probably pays only about 15 percent of his income in taxes, and he hinted that he might release his 2011 return.

Even then, however, he will face pressure to release previous returns, too — like his father, who released 12 years of returns back when he made his presidential run. (The elder Romney, by the way, paid 37 percent of his income in taxes).

And the public has a right to see the back years: By 2011, with the campaign looming, Mr. Romney may have rearranged his portfolio to minimize awkward issues like his accounts in the Cayman Islands or his use of the justly reviled “carried interest” tax break.

But the larger question isn’t what Mitt Romney’s tax returns have to say about Mitt Romney; it’s what they have to say about U.S. tax policy. Is there a good reason why the rich should bear a startlingly light tax burden?

Mr. Romney’s tax dance is doing us all a service by highlighting the unwise, unjust and expensive favors being showered on the upper-upper class. At a time when all the self-proclaimed serious people are telling us that the poor and the middle class must suffer in the name of fiscal probity, such low taxes on the very rich are indefensible. Read more at http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/20/opinion/krugman-taxes-at-the-top.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

8. Eugene Robinson: Republicans with a one-track mind

Romney and Gingrich, especially, have taken pains to create the impression that there is something alien and illegitimate about the Obama presidency. They portray Obama not as a political opponent but as a usurper.

On Monday, Romney made the pitch that Obama had to be replaced right now, because if he remains in office for four more years, the country will be transformed into “something we wouldn’t recognize.” Bingo.

The Obama administration, to state the obvious, doesn’t look like any of its predecessors. In its diversity, however, it does look a lot like the nation.

When I was growing up in South Carolina, the state’s political leadership was all white and all male, and the Confederate flag flew proudly above the statehouse in Columbia. On Wednesday night, Gov. Nikki Haley (R), who is of Indian descent, gave the annual State of the State address; when she finished, state Rep. Bakari Sellers (D), who is African American, gave the opposition’s response.

From the evidence, voters here have more capacity for dealing with change than the Republican candidates seem to think. 1.19.11Read more at http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/gop-candidates-focus-on-ousting-obama-not-issues/2012/01/19/gIQA5Ap5BQ_story.html

9. Norman Ornstein: Effect of Citizens United Felt Two Years Later

Jan. 21 is an auspicious day, for two reasons. It is the date of the South Carolina primary, and it is the second anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision.

Two years after that landmark ruling, voters around the country have had an opportunity to witness what the court has wrought — with the latest victims being the South Carolinians subjected to millions of dollars of ads financed not by candidates but by groups with innocuous names such as Restore Our Future, Winning Our Future, Make Us Great Again, Endorse Liberty, Our Destiny, American Bridge and Red, White and Blue. The ads all have a disclaimer at the end: “Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.”

As some voters are beginning to realize, the disclaimer is nonsensical, and the groups are effectively arms of the campaigns — but without any of the restrictions or timely disclosure requirements the candidates themselves face.

The end of January marks the 36th anniversary of the Buckley v. Valeo decision, the capstone of efforts to curb the rampant legalized corruption that culminated in Watergate. To those who remember the pre-Watergate era, brace yourselves — it is on the way back. 1.18.12 Read more at http://www.rollcall.com/issues/57_80/effect_citizens_united_felt_two_years_later-211556-1.html

10. David Frum: Mitt Romney Has Signed Paul Ryan’s Suicide Note

When Democrats face tough elections, there is one thing they can always be counted on to do: accuse Republicans of having a secret plan to eliminate Medicare. Jimmy Carter did it in the presidential debate of 1980: “Governor Reagan, as a matter of fact, began his political career campaigning around this nation against Medicare.” Bill Clinton did it in his duel against Newt Gingrich in 1995-96: “Yesterday [congressional Republicans] sent me legislation that said—we will only keep the government going, and we will only let it pay its debts if and only if we accept their cuts in Medicare, their cuts in education, their cuts in the environment, and their repeal of 25 years of bipartisan commitments to protect the environment and public health.”

President Obama would dearly like to do it again in 2012. But this time, Republicans made it easy for him. Obama does not have to accuse them of having a secret plan to eliminate Medicare. In 2011, all but four House Republicans and all but five Senate Republicans voted for a very public plan to withdraw the Medicare guarantee from Americans younger than age 55.

The Paul Ryan plan would instead offer future retirees support to buy a private insurance plan—with the amount of the support rising at the rate of general inflation. If health care costs continue to rise during the next three decades at the same pace as in the past three decades, then—under this proposal—today’s 30-somethings would receive support sufficient to cover about 25 percent of their Medicare costs, leaving them to find the other 75 percent themselves. The money saved would be applied to balance the budget and finance a big tax cut, reducing the top income-tax rate to 28 percent from the otherwise scheduled 39.6 percent. 1.20.12 Read more at http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/01/20/david-frum-mitt-romney-has-signed-paul-ryan-s-suicide-note.html#body_text4

11. James Carville: GOP: You have a disaster on your hands

I would send this memo to each of you individually, but I'm not sure exactly who you are. I've been told that you exist and that people like my colleagues Bill Bennett, Karl Rove, and Bill Kristol are charter members of it.

I am assuming you are out there and I assume there are more than three of you. At any rate, I thought I'd take a moment to catch up with you and make some observations on how things are going for your party.

At any rate, let's talk a minute about Mitt. He was your guy -- he was methodical, meticulous, married once. He has completely blown himself up over an issue that everyone knew was coming. Have you had a chance to look at John McCain's research operation on Mitt? Wow. And let me assure you, that thing has been supplemented, expanded, and annotated. God only knows about the Obama people -- they've got a billion dollars! And how about my friends over at American Bridge (the Democrat-leaning political action committee)? Clearly Mitt is merely in the beginning of this tax-return, financial-disclosure, Cayman Island (and God only knows what else) fiasco.

Your new front-runner is one of your old front runners, Newt Gingrich. I would like to take a moment to revel: I cannot personally tell you how pleased I am to see old Newt rise to the top after listening to all of your nauseating, sickening lectures on the evils of government and the importance of family values.

Now, you guys have to deal with a $1.6 million Freddie Mac consultant (who says he wasn't a lobbyist) who has been married three times. Hope you, at least, enjoy the Super Bowl. It could be your last hurrah for a while.

PS -- As my former boss once said, I feel your pain. That's why I didn't mention Rick Perry. 1.21.12 Read more at http://edition.cnn.com/2012/01/21/opinion/carville-republican-disaster/index.html

12. Ezra Klein: What are Newt Gingrich’s big ideas?

On Saturday’s edition of “Up With Chris Hayes,” Gary Johnson brought up an old Newt Gingrich idea I hadn’t heard before: Putting individuals who brought more than two ounces of marijuana into the United States to death. That sounded extreme, even for Gingrich. So I looked it up. And sure enough, there it is: “The Drug Importer Death Penalty Act of 1996.” What makes the bill even more amazing is that Gingrich himself is a confessed pot smoker. When he was young, he said, experimenting with drugs “was a sign we were alive and in graduate school in that era.”

Gingrich’s ideas on the big issues are standard-issue conservatism, and they’re mixed in with occasional flights of fancy (illuminate highways using orbiting mirrors that reflect moonlight), pure plays to resentment and fear (execute 19-year-olds who are stupidly trying to smuggle two ounces of pot from Mexico), and a lot of small, specific ideas, like the Louisiana port reconstruction. But perhaps I’m wrong. Can anyone name some actually big, actually workable, actually new ideas that Gingrich has been associated with during his career? What has he brought to the table that wouldn’t have been there in his absence? 1/22/12Read more at http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/what-are-newt-gingrichs-big-ideas/2011/08/25/gIQApk8pIQ_blog.html

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