If Move On Organizes A Protest Against Mitt Romney And No One Show Up, Does It Still Happen?

Sometimes I get emails.

Dear MoveOn member,

News broke this morning in The Boston Globe that Mitt Romney may have been in charge of Bain Capital for three years longer than he'd previously reported—a bombshell that could change the trajectory of the presidential race.1 The press is all over the story, and people everywhere are wondering what Mitt is hiding by not releasing his tax returns from this period.

When George Romney, Mitt's father, ran for president in 1967, he released 12 years of tax returns. He said, "one year could be a fluke, perhaps done for show."

But that's all Mitt has released, one year. He willingly provided 23 years of tax returns to the McCain campaign in 2008 before being rejected for the vice presidential slot. Now he wants to be president—but he's unwilling to release the same information to the American people.

Why? That's the question—and the only way we'll find out is if Romney releases his returns.

That's why MoveOn members are showing up at Romney campaign offices all over the country on Friday to turn the heat way up and deliver a simple message: Release your returns now!

There's a Romney office in Chester [Virginia]. Can you stop by TOMORROW at NOON to drop off our "Release Your Returns" letter to make sure they, and the media, get the message?

That was Thursday.  I checked my calender, it was clear save for taking my daughters to the park to play.  Sure, I can swing by to see who will show up.

I arrived on scene at the campaign office about 12:30.  I figured I should give them some time get arrive and get organized.

Where the office is at is a pretty modern office park with ample parking and a few posh restaurants with some apartments  nearby.  The idea behind it all is to work, eat and play all within a few hundred yards of where you live. It's nice.

I wasn't sure on the exact location of the campaign office so I started to look for a group of people carrying around the same mass produced sign.  No luck.

It was a beautiful day out.  Not too hot in the mid eighties range.  So the weather shouldn't have been an issue for these true believers.

I double checked the address on my phone and found the place.

It really wasn't that difficult to find.  

There wasn't anyone is sight.  To one side of the building.

Or to the other side. 

I don't know if it was because it was Friday the 13th or that it was the second Friday of the month and the welfare Living Assistance checks came in the mail that day or what was the reason. There wasn't anyone from Move On there. 

I went inside and talked to Matt (I apologize if I got his name wrong, I didn't write it down at the time) and he told me that no one from Move On has showed up to picket. 

I didn't wait too long as I had my kids with me and they were anxious to get to the park and why wait on nothing? 

As I left the office complex, I checked to see if there were any protesters out near the busy street, trying to catch eyeballs as people drove by.  Nope.  Nothing there either.

I don't know how the others went but the protest in Chester, Virginia was a bust.

I did pick up a Romney bumper sticker so there's that. 

California Keeps Whistling Past The Graveyard

San Bernardino joins the ranks of Stockton and Mammoth Lakes in filing for bankruptcy. 

San Bernardino on Tuesday became the third California city in less than a month to seek bankruptcy protection, with officials saying the financial situation had become so dire that it could not cover payroll through the summer.

The unexpected vote came at the suggestion of the interim city manager, who said the city faces a $46-million deficit and depleted coffers.

Six paragraphs into the story, you get to the reason why:

The city's fiscal crisis has been years in the making, compounded by the nation's crushing recession and exacerbated by escalating pension costs, lucrative labor agreements, Sacramento's raid on redevelopment funds and a city reserve that is tapped out, officials said.

Miller told the council that the city faced major deficits for the next five years.

The deficits remain even after the city negotiated $10 million in concessions from employees and slashed the workforce 20% over the last four years.

So having unfunded liabilities tied to lifelong pensions, catering to every public union demand and having a state government playing shell games with state finances drained whatever reserve the city had.

San Bernardino's tax revenues have declined by as much as $16 million annually over the last few years, primarily because of drops in sales and property taxes.

The end result of having progressive policies in place means people end up voting with their feet and leaving the state. 

Be sure to read the rest to find out about Stockton and Mammoth Lakes. 

Former County Worker Still Lucky To Be Alive And Walking On The Right Side Of The Soil

Where your alarm clock is a three hundred pound guy who wakes you up to let you know the grass needs to be cut.

Martinez, Georgia.

A Columbia County code compliance officer accused of entering a Martinez home without permission was fired Monday.

Columbia County sheriff’s investigators completed an investigation Friday into a July 2 incident in which Erica Masters claimed that Jimmy Vowell came into her home uninvited.

The investigation didn’t result in criminal charges against Vowell because the sheriff’s office investigators found no criminal intent, Columbia County Administrator Scott Johnson said.

Walked into her home without permission.  And it was caught on tape.  He was fired soon after and rightfully so.  

The guy is lucky he's wasn't plugged a few times.  Seriously, the man was humongous.  And for a single woman to wake up with him in her room.  Again.  Lucky.

"Officer, I woke up with this huge man in my room and I was afraid for my life."

Give some people an inch of authority and they take a mile. 

Reading Between The Lines In Joseph Cotto's Article About Why Gov. Scott Walker Should Lose

Show me a coach who wants to strategically lose a game or two and I'll show you a bad coach.

FLORIDA, May 17, 2012 — In Wisconsin’s ever contentious gubernatorial recall, most would probably expect the garden variety Republican to support incumbent Scott Walker. After all, he is a standard bearer for America’s gut-the-government movement and unapologetically brash about his beliefs to boot.

 This is the standard introduction before the big 'BUT' of my appeal. 

While this sort of thing might appeal to certain factions of the Republican base — specifically elements of it which are so far right that they have come to despise the GOP’s traditional form — it does not appeal to me.

This is why I believe that Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett must claim victory come June 5th.

You knuckle-dragging bitter clingers just don't appreciate the fine work the Republican party has done these last 10 years.

Pundits have speculated that the recall is about far more than local affairs; it is a referendum of sorts on the distinct breed of right wing politics that has taken hold since the 2010 midterm elections. Despite being rooted in fiscal matters, like curtailing collective bargaining for labor unions, it has transcended them to include social policy as well; as the continuing siege on women’s reproductive rights is a shameful testament to.

Even though the GOP was almost beaten to obscurity in 06 and 08 and it too the help of all the local Tea Parties to make a record breaking change in the House of Representatives in 2010, shut up and let the policy people like me make decisions for you all. 

And I've also fallen for the Democrat lie about the GOP's "War On Women" when it's about the government telling what should and shouldn't be covered with insurance.  

If the Republican Party has any desire to remain electorally viable in both the immediate and distant futures, then such radicalism must be addressed. In the event that Walker were to lose, the national party — in spite of its chairman, Reince Priebus, who never seems to have surpassed amateur hour as far as the science of practical politics is concerned — would most certainly promote a more temperate dialogue.

Despite the evidence of history to the contrary that Republicans have been gaining in electoral ground, moderation, moderation, moderation.  


But what will never be addressed is the extremism in the Democrat party.  That would offend the moderates to point that out and send them running to those same Democrat extremists. 

Even more importantly, presumptive presidential nominee Mitt Romney could finally seize the opportunity to do something revolutionary: run on his own extensive record as a moderate. Throughout this year’s primaries, he was left with little choice other than to pose as a rock ribbed rightist; an cringeworthy feat that produced a plethora of unintentionally comedic moments.

Blah blah blah, shut up bitter clingers and get back to stuffing envelopes.  Your opinions are not needed.

Following a Walker loss, the far right would become almost completely devoid of political capital. Consequently, its ability to tack Romney down to a host of extremist positions should vanish. The Tea Party, which originally functioned as a positive influence of fiscal restraint during an era of runaway government spending, has morphed into a strange hybrid of the Religious Right and the John Birch Society. One of Walker’s most prominent supporters, its current incarnation might be decisively repudiated in the event that its star politico is sent packing.

Yes, I am seriously talking about demoralizing the Republican base.  You know, the people who do volunteer for candidates, knock on doors, stuff envelopes and actually donate to the causes they believe in. 

As a Republican in the vein of Dwight Eisenhower and Nelson Rockefeller, I believe that this is the best case scenario. Of course, a great deal of those on the far right may threaten to leave the GOP and start their own party in the event of a centrist shift. If that is what they wish, then no one should try to stop them. After a few election cycles yielding returns no higher than five percent of the popular vote, they ought to get the message that extremism is anything but a virtue.

 While everyone remembers fondly the Reagan years, I'm above that.  I would even add in Nixon if it wasn't for Watergate.  

While it is regrettable to advocate the defeat of a fellow Republican, the Party’s temper has reached the point of this becoming an absolute necessity. Hopefully, not too far down the line, said scenario will be rendered obsolete, as adequate room will have been made inside of the supposedly big tent for not only differing viewpoints, but that nagging inconvenience known as reality.

The sooner this can be accomplished, the brighter America’s horizon stands to shine.

They say that the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step and-- nothing personal--  Scott Walker is that first step to glorious moderation.  

Now go out there and lose one for the Gipper.  

Character mode off:  Now that pretty much all the candidates have dropped out and endorsed Mitt, there hasn't been much reluctance about Mitt's nomination that I can tell.  And this is obviously more anectdotal rather than data but my father-- who has voted third party and his beliefs for the last 40 years or so-- is pondering a Mitt vote.

And sorry this is about two weeks old but it was in my queue and finally had some time to get it finished. 

But if what Cotto wrote is what the Republican Party thinks, it's time for a new party.

What's This "Everyone Blog About Brett Kimberlin Day"?

. . . Other than Bret Kimberlin is a domestic terrorist?



 Bob Belvedere has the details as well as Lee Stranahan who also offers this warning: 

In political blogging, we often toss around highly charged words with great abandon. We say politicians we don’t like are scary and crazy and dangerous.

Brett Kimberlin is actually dangerous.

Full stop. No metaphor. No exaggeration. Brett Kimberlin is dangerous. As in — he blew up bombs and police suspected he did it to cover up a murder. People in Indiana tell me that witnesses disappeared during the trial. Worse, Kimberlin has shown no remorse for the bombings and went to great lengths to make the lives of his victims miserable.

Please, do not lose sight of this. This isn’t a time for loose rhetoric.  This is real. It’s real and it’s serious in a way that many ‘political stories’ frankly are not.  In that sense, this story is way beyond politics.

Apologies for taking the full posting but it's something that is worth passing on.

Expects more updates, if not tomorrow then soon after.  

Saturday Night In A House Of The Rising Sun

The person who made this cover of "House of the Rising Sun" by The Animals made this version of "Bohemian Rhapsody" as well.

Someone Call The Wahbulance!

Because conservatives are taking over Twitter hash tags to make fun of Obama and Gonzalo Cordova isn't going to stand for it.

So instead of pointing out what's funny and what isn't (simple word play, what's funnier?  Fender or bumper?  Normally bumper is funnier but fender is usually better) he just points out a few jokes that fell flat or some that he just did not get.  Which-- as a writer for Comedy Central-- is a bit below his paygrade. 

Countless blogs have already done that for free.  

What a good comedy writer would have done is shown where the funny was and maybe even thrown in a few jokes himself.  After all, even Gonzalo said that:  Everyone in power deserves to be ridiculed.

Unless they are doing their best to carry water for the super cool, hip and sassiest president evah!  Then no ridicule is needed.

Thanks to Beth for the find. 

Santorum Endorses Romney

The longshot is officially out of the running with this: 

Former presidential hopeful Rick Santorum urged his supporters to back fellow Republican Mitt Romney's campaign Monday in a late-night email that ignored that Santorum once calling Romney the "worst Republican in the country" during their bitter contest.

Santorum, a former senator from Pennsylvania and a newly minted celebrity among conservatives, said that the one-time rivals would unite to deny President Barack Obama's re-election.