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During the Tea Party Convention in Nashville Sarah Palin gives the Tea Baggers and their movement way too much credit for the election of Scott Brown. Somehow she forgot to mention the influence of Mitt Romney and his team for Brown's success.

Mitt Romney's Man:

If Scott Brown pulls off an upset in the race to replace Ted Kennedy in the Senate, he may have Mitt Romney to thank. Samuel P. Jacobs on the 2012 GOP presidential hopeful's hidden hand.

There are a number of forces driving Republican Scott Brown’s surprising surge in the Massachusetts special Senate election campaign. He’s benefiting from public anger over the Obama administration’s health-care reform plan. He’s buoyed by a tide of cash from around the country, donated by conservatives eager to send a message by upsetting Democratic front-runner Martha Coakley. And then there’s the lackluster campaign Coakley herself has run.

Largely overlooked in assessing Brown’s prospects: the hidden hand of Mitt Romney. The former Massachusetts governor headlined at a fundraiser for Brown last October. And Romney has helped Brown raise money outside the state as well. “I know Scott and how determined he is to win. I've campaigned for him, raised money on his behalf, and we're doing all we can to help him over the finish line,” Romney wrote supporters last Monday. Brown, 50, raised $1.3 million that day. Read on...

Heaven forbid that would sway Sister Sarah from giving this food for fodder to the good folks who forked out all the money to see her speak. Scott Brown is about as grass roots as Palin and Dick Armey and Tim Phillips and the rest of these Republicans who are making fools of those who are clueless about the money behind this astroturf movement.

Palin: And I am a big supporter of this movement; I believe in this movement. Got a lot of friends and family in the lower 48 who attend these events and across the country just knowin’ that this is the movement and America is ready for another revolution and you are a part of this. I look forward to attending more Tea Party events in the near future. It is just so inspiring to see real people, not politicos, not inside the beltway professionals come out and stand up and speak out for common sense conservative principles.

And today I want to start off with a special shout out to America’s newest Senator thanks to you, Scott Brown. Now in many ways Scott Brown represents what this beautiful movement is all about. You know he was just a guy with a truck and a passion to serve our country. He looked around and he saw that things weren’t quite right in Washington. So he stood up and he decided he was going to do his part to put our government back on the side of the people. And it took guts and it took a lot of hard work. But with grass roots support Scott Brown carried the day.

[…]

You know considering the recent conservative election sweep it’s time that they stopped blaming everyone else. When you’re 0 for 3 you’d better stop lecturing and start listening. The only place that the left has to blame is on their agenda so some advice for our friends on that side of the aisle. That’s where you’ve gotta’ look because that’s what got you into this mess. The Obama, Pelosi, Reid agenda—it’s going to leave us less secure, more in debt and more under the thumb of big government. And that is out of touch. And it’s out of date. And if Scott Brown is any indication, it’s runnin’ outta’ time.

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From The Cafferty File:

The one in Boston more than 200 years ago was amazing. Now there's another tea party brewing…

Hundreds of mostly conservative and independent activists are descending on Nashville, Tennessee for the first-ever "National Tea party Convention."

The movement started in small towns and large cities across the country - with people protesting against President Obama's economic and health care policies. It's grown from dozens to hundreds of loosely-linked grass-roots groups. Tea partiers have varying political views, although they generally agree on fiscal conservatism and the idea that the federal government has become too powerful.

Although the tea party movement has no national organization and no leader - it has quickly grown in size and is starting to smell a little like a political party.

Organizers say this weekend's convention is sold out, with about 600 attendees paying $550 to attend.

Some of the sessions planned include "Technology in the Tea Party Movement,"... "Defeating Liberalism via the Primary Process" and "Why Christians Must Engage."

Sarah Palin, the keynote speaker, is reportedly being paid $100,000 - although she insists she won't "benefit financially" from the event. Palin says anything she makes from her appearance will go "right back to the cause" - whatever that means.

But other high-profile speakers and activist groups have dropped out. Critics say the average tea party-goer can't afford the tab for a "lobster and steak dinner in a fancy hotel," they say it sounds more like a "regular Republican fundraiser" than like a tea party.

Here’s my question to you: How seriously do you take the tea party movement?

Continue reading »

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Glenn Beck didn't bother to even have any guests on his program yesterday because he was too busy calling progressives "parasites" and "a virus" and making insane connections that only he understands. That's typical eliminationist rhetoric.

He can't handle differences of political belief, so he wants to wipe out liberals and progressives from the face of the earth. He believes that since he uses a blackboard with chalk and incoherently erases a letter off of one word to form new words that will make it all comprehensible.

Beck's been working himself up into a frothy, psycho-frenzied lather about destroying all progressives as he promotes Jonah Goldberg's dishonest book and thesis about fascism, which he uses for his own demented documentary. And apparently I should be eliminated too.

Wow, all because I was not happy with Lynne Woolsey for hosting a fundraiser for CA-36's very own Blue Dog, Jane Harman, and wrote a few posts about it calling for her to stop.

Beck: The traditional democratic party is going up against the radical fringe left.
I've been telling you that there's a difference between democrats and progressives from the beginning now but nobody wants to listen. Here it is. Their are Blue Dog democrats and but they are not socialists, Marxists radicals. They are more like your grand father's democrat. Most Democrats still love America, they love the founders and they love the constitution and believe in this country. But then there's another group and they have infiltrated not just the Democratic party, but the republican party...

Speak softly and carry a big stick. blah, blah, blah...We got this from an insider. Wait until you hear this story. The co-chair of the CPC...

How many times have I said they are like a virus feeding on the host of republic.

The progressives are parasites inside the democrat....The California progressives weren't the only ones upset. John Amato of Crooksandliars wrote on Huffington Post.

"for Woolsey to holding a fundraising events for a known Blue Dog should be a firing offense for the CPC."

Progressives Democrats for America joined in, They started an online petition asking her to withdraw from the event. Woolsey said no. I don't know how this story ends quite frankly it's California and it's all going to end in a mudslide right into the bottom of the ocean eventually anyway, but let me tell you something. The last time the progressives were in this position and they started gobbling power and they exposed themselves people caught on and hated them.

That threatens him, so he warns that people like me are destroying the Democratic Party. Of course, you know he loves the Democratic Party as much as he loves eating sandpaper. He opines that progressives have been hiding for years and years in the wilderness and suddenly snuck up on him.

He's the Teabagger King and is trying to purge all moderate Republicans from the GOP, as if they were a disease, and replace them with arch-conservative haters. And while he's at it, he wants to do the same for Democrats.

Of course, Glenn has nothing but our own best interests at heart. Riiiiiiiight.

UPDATE: After watching this again and adding a little transcript, isn't it nice for Beck to hope that California gets hit with an earthquake that destroys the state and we end up as fish food. What a guy, that Beck. He not only is hoping for progressives to be eliminated, but the entire state of California as well.

Just in case you were wondering why the right-leaning Harold Ford is suddenly a viable "liberal" candidate for the New York Senate seat, all you need to do is take a look at his very powerful friends on Wall Street.

Oh, and it also looks like he may be planning to run as a Bloomberg-style independent (h/t Howie Klein):

The one constituency with whom Ford does have high name-recognition is the city's top Democratic bundlers. "At least among my friends, Harold has an extremely strong base," said Orin Kramer, an investor at Boston Provident whose early support for Obama imbued him with gravity in the New York donor firmament. While Ford has yet to raise a cent for the race, Kramer said he would have financial support if he in fact ran.

"People regard him quite properly as an extraordinary political talent," Kramer said.

"We bonded with him years ago and he is one of our friends," said Robert Zimmerman, another influential fundraiser and Democratic National Committeeman. But according to several of these bundlers, it's not all about friendship. A show of support for Ford's potential candidacy also sends a message to Washington.

Ford's investor-friendly positions as chairman of the centrist Democratic Leadership Council make him an ideal vehicle to protest Obama's "fat cat" insults and Schumer's post-crisis interest in financial regulation.

"Mr. President, you did what you need to do, we now have to do what we have to do," said one prominent member of New York's Democratic donor universe, who was granted anonymity to freely reflect the sentiments of his peers. The donor said Wall Street needed to elect Ford as a "champion for New York's economy and financial services sector," because Schumer "is preoccupied with being majority leader and a national leader, and our junior senator is a second vote for Chuck."

("Nobody stands up for New York's economy more than Senator Schumer," said Schumer spokesman Brian Fallon. "But that doesn't mean doing whatever the banks want even when they're wrong.")

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(Paul Weller - Thirty years and no sign of a letup)

I have always been a fan of Paul Weller, whether it's him solo, as The Style Council or The Jam. It struck me as strange that The Jam in their heyday wasn't as well known over here in the States as they were in the UK or Europe - or why Weller isn't that better known over here now is still something of a mystery.

But the ones who do know him and know his work and have enjoyed what he's been doing the past 30+ years appreciate hearing him any chance they get. And you know who you are.

So tonight I'm running, as part of our Fundraiser a concert Weller gave at Guilfest in 2005.

Classic Weller in fine form - still performing and still recording. Still sounding fresh as ever.

Enjoy.

Oh and um . . .while you're doing that, if you can, put something in the kitty below to keep this all going. Anything and everything helps and it is so appreciated.

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(Mick Hucknall of Simply Red - blue-eyed soul for the 80s)

Tonights installment of the Nights At The Roundtable Fundraiser Edition comes from Newcastle City Hall in 1989. A performance by Simply Red.

A bit of blue-eyed soul for your Sunday night.

. . .and if you are so inclined . .

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(Duke Ellington - aka: National Treasure)

As part of our Fundraising week, I thought I would offer something completely unique and special. A previously unheard and unknown, recently discovered performance by Duke Ellington and his Famous Orchestra, along with members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic live at Hollywood Bowl from August 25, 1966.

This has never been commercially made available and you are the first ones to hear it since it was recorded that August night.

Get comfortable and have a listen.

And don't forget to hit the "donate" button lurking around on the site. It costs to remaster these things.

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(A taste of Tull tonight - live)

A change of pace tonight and for the coming week. Nights At The Roundtable will be devoted to live concerts (in addition to our regular Backstage Weekend series) in celebration of our Fundraiser (hint-hint).

Tonight it's Jethro Tull, Live at the Hammersmith Odeon in 1984.

So check it out, play it loud and empty the change purse:

Another year has come and almost gone. It's been a tough one for the entire country, but I think we're doing our best, and so has our entire Team Crooks. I've also been a volunteer for Blue America and the support you have shown our Campaign for Health Care Choice and the many great progressive candidates we've endorsed like Alan Grayson has been incredible.

We're reaching out to our readers again and asking for help so that the MSM doesn't overrun the blogosphere. They are pouring millions of dollars in to try and compete with bloggers. Their new twist to fool America is that they have the nerve to call themselves "bloggers." Paid journalists from corporations are trying to co-opt the term.

C&L has been expanding and improving the site and we need your help to continue to make improvements. We're almost finished with a new design that will also include a "diaries" function for people that are registered C&L users which will have a neat video format that will be open to you also. More shall be revealed when we unveil the new design. We hope to have it ready in January. This has taken a lot of time and a lot of dedication from many, many people. Please donate what you can.

In the coming year we're also trying to reach out into the blogosphere to hire more people to make C&L an even better site. We'll be looking for video bloggers, a researcher, site monitors an investigative journalist and interns as well, but we can't do it without your help. (You can email resumes at crooksandliars@gmail.com) I'll post more about that soon.

In 2009, TIME Magazine called us one of the Top 25 Blogs of the year.

In 2008, C&L won the Web Blog award for Best Political Blog on the net.

Mike Stark has been a regular member in the liberal blogosphere for a long time and has been on the Hill with his Flip camcorder getting pols on tape to answer questions that the media somehow never seems to get around to asking.

Digby, Howie and myself have joined with CREDO and are trying to generate some cash for him. I know it's tight out there. Advertising has been down for all of us and I may have to do another fundraiser soon for C&L, but if you can please sign Credo's petition that will send a coat hanger to every member of the pro-choice party that voted yes to the ugly Stupak amendment and a dollar to Mike. Blue America is collecting the money from CREDO and we decided to give it to Mike.

Here's Mike to explain:

And you aren't the only folks noticing this work. Blue America (Howie Klein, Digby, John Amato) and Credo Action/Working Assets have also been keeping an eye on my efforts. They realize that this work cannot continue without support (I have a family to feed, student loans and rent to pay, etc. etc.), and they know a movement cannot succeed without mutual support. With that in mind, they've teamed up to raise some money for me.

Credo Action/Working Assets has a petition set up. For every signature on the petition, they'll be delivering a coat-hanger to Representatives that voted for the ridiculously regressive ant-choice Stupak Amendment. In addition, for every signature, up to 5,000, they'll donate $1 to StarkReports. Right now they are at about 1800 signatures.

If you appreciate hard-hitting and tenacious reporting... If you like seeing powerful people asked tough questions... If you want a media that works for you... I can use your help. Please sign the petition (it costs you nothing but your time). Watch my videos. Visit (and bookmark) StarkReports.com. If you've got some extra cash, drop it in the donation box on the right-side nav bar...

In the meantime, I'll be asking more tough questions this week. I've got some doozies stored away; this is sure to be a productive week.

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Hey, good luck with that! I'm sure the shy and uncertain Rep. Grayson will fold quickly under all the Republican wonderfulness:

Republicans eager to unseat a brash Orlando Democrat who said their party's health care plan amounts to hoping people "die quickly" have so far been unsuccessful in finding a candidate.

But now comes a willing Republican -- all the way from South Florida.

Armando Gutierrez Jr., son of one of Miami's best-known political consultants and a member of local civic boards, voted in the city of Coral Gables as recently as April.

But he says he's the right person to take on Rep. Alan Grayson, who likes to call Republicans "knuckle-dragging Neanderthals" and has become one of the party's top targets in 2010.

Gutierrez, a 28-year-old real estate developer and Republican Party fundraiser, said he has already lined up endorsements from three Central Florida Republicans: U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis and state Reps. Chris Dorworth and Bryan Nelson.

At least three Orlando Republicans have declined to run against Grayson, who has millions of dollars of his own to spend on the race and is emerging as a rock star in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party. Even some Republican strategists say Gutierrez is a long shot.

"The fact that Republicans have to import their candidate from 300 miles away shows how strong Congressman Grayson is," said Eric Jotkoff, a spokesman for the Florida Democratic Party.

Gutierrez says he has been doing business in Central Florida for six years and started renting in downtown Orlando earlier this year. State law does not require congressional candidates to live in the district. He registered to vote in Orange County on Sept. 11, his birthday.

I had hoped to go to a party for Rep. Barbara Lee on Sunday, but it turned out to be too early in the day for me and we have those pesky Sunday Bobblehead shows to cover. Still, I heard it was a great event. I wanted to thank her because she was the only member of Congress who voted against Bush's war resolution back in 2002. And she explained it this way:

BARBARA LEE: First, our nation is in grieving, we're all mourning, we're angry; there are a range of emotions taking place. Myself personally, I am also grieving and I believe fully and firmly that the Congress of the United States is the only legislative body that can say, "Let's pause for a moment...and let's look at using some restraint before we rush to action." Because military action can lead to an escalation and spiral out of control. So, why I voted no, was one, the president already has the authority to execute a military action. He doesn't need Congress; under the War Powers Act he has that authority. But Congress is the people's house, and the Congress is responsible for providing checks and balances, and you cannot just allow the administration to run ahead with a strategy without reporting back and without having some oversight.

Too bad the rest of Congress didn't see the situation as clearly as she did.

Howie Klein was there and he has some interesting news about her bill to stop the Afghanistan war and how we're supposed to pay for it:

And Thursday, as a member of the Appropriations Committee, she introduced HR 3699, a bill that will prohibit funding any increase in the number of members of the United States Armed Forces in Afghanistan.

Bush funded his wars with supplemental budgets which meant he just printed money-- trillions of dollars-- to pay for them without having to worry about raising taxes (on current voters) or about cutting services directly. One result has been the worst economic disaster since the Great Depression. Obama campaigned on a promise not use supplemental budgets but to ask Congress for money through established budgetary procedures. That would kick in pay-go and a member of Congress voting for funds to escalate expensive occupations of other countries would have to agree to either raise taxes on his or her constituents-- what do you think Boehner, Cantor, Pence, Ryan and other leading GOP warmongers will think of that?-- or cut back on social programs, a prospect none too attractive to many of the conservative and moderate Democrats who have gone along with Bush's outrageous supplemental budgeting and are thereby complicit in the economic disaster that has ensued.

I really thought "pay-go" was our ace-in-the-hole to stop the war in Afghanistan. Not even a political thug like Rahm Emanuel could bully and bribe enough Democrats and Republicans to go for this, especially not at a point when the war is as increasingly unpopular as it is. If the Senate doesn't kill the legislation that the House passed, it is, in effect, a vote for a war that will last until Obama is voted out of office. Please help Blue America build and strengthen a coalition of anti-war Democrats in Congress by contributing to No Means No.

(Everyone who donates today has their name entered in a drawing to win two items autographed by Al Franken, a copy of the book The Truth... With Jokes and a copy of a rare advance screener for his DVD God Spoke.

Way to go, Rep. Lee.

MoveOn has generously joined in on our Standing Up For The Public Option fundraiser and it's helped keep the thermometer rising. When last I looked we were over 300,000 dollars and over 5000 donors. I can't wait to wake up and see where we are next. (I wrote this post at 11:15 PM Thursday)

Howie Klein adds:

UPDATE: MoveOn.org Joins The Battle

If you've noticed that our thermometer is going through the roof today, that's because MoveOn is in the process of sending out a request to their millions of members to join the effort to thank the Democrats in Congress who have drawn the line in the sand for a robust public option and real health care reform beyond the siphoning of public money that the insurance companies and their congressional shills want.

I was watching MSNBC and CNN yesterday and all I was hearing was that progressives supporting the public option are left to the left. WTF does that mean? When Bush used reconciliation to pass his massive tax cut for the rich bill, the media didn't say that it was a right to the right position. We get tarred for having a brain.

And now Terry McCauliffe of all people has said that he's for the public option and is offering to do a fundraiser for anyone who endorsers it in Virginia. Wow.

Not Larry Sabato has worked with Terry McAuliffe to do a major fundraiser for any Virginia candidate who makes the pledge (an effort probably worth six figures).

Terry McAuliffe? Wow! That's an effort! In fact, I'm going back on the Blue America page and donating some more.

And a new poll shows 77% percent of Americans still support the public option.

Yet, while the issue continues to be hotly debated in the halls of Congress, a new poll by Survey USA finds that the idea is as popular as ever amongst the American public:

More than three out of every four Americans feel it is important to have a “choice” between a government-run health care insurance option and private coverage, according to a public opinion poll released on Thursday.

A new study by SurveyUSA puts support for a public option at a robust 77 percent, one percentage point higher than where it stood in June.

The SurveyUSA poll finds similar results to several other polls that also show that the public option is very popular, a fact that some members of Congress consider to be a detriment.

Yes, I'm a 77%er...

Jane adds:

The House Dems have 77% of the country behind them. Conrad and Bayh have WellPoint and Blue Cross behind them, and messy financial ties to boot. Will they join with the Republicans to filibuster a Democratic health care bill? Because as Kagro X says, that is very much what they are saying they will do.

I guess we will see.

California Democrat Francine Busby lost a heated 2006 race against Republican Brian Bilbray that was plagued by voting irregularities and a hasty swearing in of Bilbray by then Speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert.

Fast forward to last Friday night, and a Busby fundraiser for her 2010 run that ended in what appears to be a gross miscarriage of justice and innocent people being assaulted with pepper spray and physically abused -- all based on a bogus complaint from a bigot in the neighborhood:

ENCINITAS — Francine Busby says she will demand an explanation from the Sheriff's Department about deputies breaking up a fundraising party held for her in Cardiff and arresting the host.

The party was Friday night in the 1300 block of Rubenstein Avenue, the home of Shari Barman, a Busby supporter.

It ended with Barman, 60, being arrested and jailed on suspicion of battery on a peace officer, and resisting, delaying and obstructing a peace officer.

Pam Morgan, 62, a Rancho Santa Fe resident and one of the guests, also was arrested and taken to the Encinitas Sheriff's Station, where she was cited for resisting, delaying and obstructing a peace officer.

Here's where things get interesting. Apparently, the hosts of the fundraiser are a lesbian couple and they just happen to have one nasty, homophobic neighbor:

During Busby's speech, Barman said in a statement yesterday, a man on the property behind her house shouted “disparaging remarks” about Busby and gay people. Barman lives in the house with her partner, Jane Stratton, 55.

“It was a quiet home reception, disrupted by a vulgar person shouting obscenities from behind the bushes,” Busby said. Read on...

This situation was clearly mishandled by the officers involved and I hope Francine and her friends get a formal and very public apology and that all charges in the matter are dropped. C&L helped raise money for her in 2006, how about we do it again for 2010? Please visit Francine Busby's website and show her some love and support!