At least we know who they work for now — they’ve made that clear

House Republicans have released a counter-proposal to President Obama’s budget plan to avoid plunging us off the fiscal cliff speed bump. Unsurprisingly, it raises tax revenue but doesn’t allow the Bush tax cuts to expire. In fact, according to analysis by the Washington Post, it appears to lower taxes for the top tax bracket.

Details and more GOPocrisy and insanity after the jump.

Pay no attention to the lobbyist behind the curtain

As LOLGOP pointed out this morning, there are Republicans who handily won re-election in their gerrymandered districts who do not fear the fiscal cliff. They can serve their two-percenter masters without fear that plunging our country into another recession will hurt their political careers in any way. But President Obama has a couple of things going for him. The first is that most Americans WILL blame the Republicans for “going there” if we do, indeed, go off the mythical cliff. Then there’s the fact that he won the election largely because he promised the super-wealthy would no longer be allowed to avoid paying their fair share in taxes.

Democrats are beginning to show some real spine in this debate. Politico reports today that many of them are ready to use their success on November 6th to restore some sanity to our budget.

Details after the jump.

The time for ACTION is NOW!

Last week, I wrote about the new website TheAction.org, a new organizing tool to help pass President Obama’s second term agenda. This weekend marks the first Day of Action using this organizing tool. The activities are designed to ensure that Congress passes a repeal of the Bush tax cuts on the wealthiest 2% of Americans while preserving the middle class tax cuts that actually help stimulate our economy by keeping money in the hands of those who will immediately put it back into the economy.

Details on how you can get involved after the jump.

Respect, empower, and include. Repeat.

With another successful Obama election behind us, those who were involved with Obama for America (OFA) at the grassroots level are likely wondering, “What’s next?” After his first election, it wasn’t until the summer of 2009 that OFA 2.0, aka “Organizing for America” came into being. I was privileged to be chosen to attend a 300-person debriefing conference about a month after election, dubbed “The Legacy Confernce” where those of us who were deeply involved in the campaign got together to discuss OFA’s future.

The same type of thing is happening now and YOU can be part of it. Details after the jump.

Game ON! I walked out of my hotel room this morning and this greeted me: It was a beautiful sight: President Obama setting a firm and adult-like tone against childish Republicans John “Who?” McCain and Lindsey “What about ME?” Graham who have suggested that they would filibuster an appointment of UN ambassador Susan Rice to be Secretary of State. President […]

Seizing the moment

“Tuesday night, we found out that the majority of Americans agree with my approach”

That was President Obama yesterday wasting no time in claiming the mandate handed to him by a plurality of Americans: It’s time for an end to Republican obstructionism and, absolutely without question, it’s time to quit pretending that it’s acceptable to balance our budget and reduce our deficit by raising taxes on seniors and the middle class while letting our wealthiest Americans continue to avoid paying additional taxes. It was his first public appearance since the election and it was powerful.

Video, transcript and commentary after the jump.

Aw geez, Karl. Just shut the hell up, wouldjya?

Karl Rove (aka “Turdblossom” and “Bush’s Brain”) has figured out how President Barack Obama managed to win re-election this year: Voter suppression.

No, seriously.

Details and Karl Rove-induced hilarity after the jump.

I’ve been fightin’ for tomorrow all my life

Shortly after Wednesday, November 5th, 2008, I changed my iPhone ringtone to “It’s A New Day” by will.i.am and I haven’t changed it since then. Over the past few weekends, whenever our GOTV canvassers called me in our Obama campaign office, my back pocket would ring out with that oh-so-perfect tune.

So much in the lyrics of will.i.am’s song resonated with me in 2008 and still do today, particularly this part:

If you and I made it this far,
Well then hey, we can make it all the way
And they said no we can’t
And we said yes we can
Remember it’s you and me together

I woke up this morning
Feeling alright
I’ve been fightin’ for tomorrow
All my life
Yeah, I woke up this morning
Feeling brand new
Cause the dreams that I’ve been dreaming
Have finally came true

More after the jump.

Every little bit helps

In our Obama campaign office in downtown Ann Arbor, we have the fairly typical crew of folks. There’s me, the Canvass Captain, and my Deputy Canvass Captain Jennifer who does as much or more than I do.

We have Kate who somehow manages to keep all of our canvass packets and canvassers organized so that she can report the numbers and so we can make sure everyone gets back safely.

There’s Randy, our Phonebank Captain, who is assisted by Kathy and keeps our steady flow of phonebankers trained and busy, and who manages to stay sane and calm when the predictive dialers are fussy. Thankfully, he’s also an expert in laser printer surgery.

We have Jeanette who is our gatekeeper at the front desk, making sure nobody gets by without being welcomed and then asked if they are volunteering for canvassing or phonebanking.

There’s Etta, our intrepid Comfort Captain, who keeps the coffee fresh and all of our volunteer staff fed along with our volunteers.

And then, of course, we have Alaina, our Staging Location Director. Alaina is doing the work of a staff person and gets paid only in smiles, headaches and the deep satisfaction that she has made a huge contribution to something she believes in strongly. She keeps us all focused and calm and determined and she does it with a big smile. All the time.

This is the normal contingent of volunteers that you’ll see at pretty much any Obama Get Out The Vote (GOTV) Staging Location across the country today. But our office has one more person that not every location is blessed to have.

We have Bette.

Here’s President Obama’s Weekly Address. As his opponent runs around the country, cheering for bad economic news for the USA and painting our government as reckless and oppressive, President Obama makes the very strong case for government’s role in society and our lives. I particularly loved this line:

This week, we have been humbled by nature’s destructive power. But we’ve been inspired as well. For when the storm was darkest, the heroism of our fellow citizens shone brightest.

The nurses and doctors at NYU Medical Center who evacuated fragile newborns, carrying some down several flights of stairs.

The firefighters in Queens who battled an inferno from flooded streets, and rescued people from an apartment building by boat.

The Coast Guard crews from North Carolina who saved a sinking ship in stormy seas – and their rescue swimmer who, when he reached those in need, said, “I’m Dan, and I hear you guys need a ride.”

That’s who we are. We’re Americans. When times are tough, we’re tougher. We put others first. We go that extra mile. We open our hearts and our homes to one another, as one American family. We recover, we rebuild, we come back stronger – and together we will do that once more. Thanks, God bless you, and God bless America.

Video after the jump.

At least he’s consistent…

You have to hand it to Mitt Romney. While he may not be consistent on his political positions — okay, he’s NOT consistent on his political positions — at least he’s consistent in the fact that he’s willing to brazenly lie to the American people in order to win the Presidency.

His most recent lie — that Jeep is shipping jobs to China — is almost poetic in its hubris. It started with a statement on the campaign trail when it was added to his stump speech. He then doubled down and made a television ad out of it. He then tripled down and made a radio spot and with that one, he included GM as a domestic vehicle manufacturer shipping jobs to China. None of this is true.

And then the stuff hit the fan for Romney. More after the jump.