Tag Archives: right

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Unemployment: The Numbers Don’t Lie

Today’s release of the January U3 unemployment numbers was astoundingly good, beating expectations all the way around. Remember the whole argument of “uncertainty” killing hiring? Not so much.

So this is a good thing, right? 250k+ people rejoined the work force, so we should be happy right? Not if you’re on the right and need to find any excuse to bash the President. See that “U3″ up there? That’s the definition of how the unemployment numbers are measured. Simply put, it measures those who looked for work vs. those who have jobs. It’s the number that’s been used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics since 1994.

But now, folks on the right want to start complaining about the “U6″ number. What’s that? Well, it’s a number that includes people who are no longer looking, those who are “underemployed”, etc. And in reality, it’s a much more complete number. It stands at 15.1% – which the right have jumped on so they can use a bigger, scarier number. But, of course, it ignores real facts (U6 Unemployment Stats).

Such as:

  • Since Oct 2009, the trend on this number is downward. The U6 number peaked at 17.2% in Oct 2009.
  • Currently, the U6 number has dropped 2.1% since Oct 2009.
  • During the Bush administration, the number jumped from 7.4% (February 2001) to 14.2 (January 2009). While 9/11 had an effect, the numbers jumped to 8.1% (.8% increase) before 9/11

So, while the right has now switched to the U6 numbers to try to score points, the fact is – the numbers don’t lie. The job market has improved, on all measurements, in the last three years. And if current trends continue, even the U6 number looks to be improved during the Obama administration.

Truth hurts.

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Speech: Can We Leave The Playground Now?

One of the things that the average American says they are sick and tired of is the endless bickering, name-calling and game playing by politicians. Whether left, right or independent, voters have grown beyond weary of the mudslinging and just want solutions. But it seems these pols can’t help themselves.

The media, instead of acting as the fact-checking entity they should be, instead rely on “balance”, and allow the name-calling to stand, and play up the arguing for ratings. All to the detriment of the country. We’ve discussed some of this before, but it bears repeating. The name-calling, vitriol, and in some cases, violent rhetoric is dragging down this country and making a coherent conversation impossible.

The level of discourse has sunk to that of a third-grade schoolyard, and so has the faux outrage. Whether it’s calling people “teabaggers” – and it’s more recent offshoot “firebaggers” – or calling them terrorists, it’s wrong. Period. The unfortunate thing is that a lot of the folks who have the right ideas, the right focus also fall prey to this cheap and easy form of attack. And in the process, it diminishes what they say.

The media doesn’t help, creating equivalencies between moderate views and extreme mouth pieces. This lends legitimacy to those who previously would only be found on the fringe, and makes their rhetoric “acceptable”. So now, someone who espouses even the most extreme views can get on a national network program and be presented as “an alternative”.

Politics today isn’t about the betterment of the country, or even a politician’s constituency. It’s about winning the next election. Period. For one side, it’s paramount to preserve the status quo, to keep corporate and wealthy interests happy and the money flowing. For the other side, it’s about trying to stem the bloodbath when it comes to civil liberties, while downplaying the need for fiscal responsibility. These aren’t equivalencies, mind you. These are just how these folks focus.

But neither of these focuses on fixing real problems. No, what constantly focusing on the next election does is devolve the conversation into the smallest possible sound byte or video clip. And it jacks up the insults and the faux outrage. You knew the line had been crossed when a Congress person, in the middle of the President’s State of the Union address shouted “You lie!”. Decorum, protocol and common decency thrown right out the window. And it’s gone downhill from there. Disagreement is not only expected and welcome, it is healthy. Name-calling and insult? Pointless.

But these guys are looking to send messages, to alert their base that the other side is “evil”, that they are “traitors”, that they want to “kill grandma”, that they are forming “death panels”. All of these “dogwhistles” – and many more – are shorthand for making the other guy look like the worst thing since that Gigli movie. By playing these little insult games, they get a message across in just a few short words, and let the imagination go from there.

For example, how many times have you heard the President called a “socialist”? He isn’t one, he doesn’t – and can’t – fit the description of a socialist, and he has no desire to turn this country into a socialist country. But that’s a right-wing dogwhistle that harkens back to the Soviet Cold War era, and all the boogeymen associated with it.

The left are not immune either. They want to label all the folks on the right stupid Neaderthals who can’t strring two sentences together. Most folks don’t get to positions of power by being stupid. And calling them stupid only weakens any argument against them.

The list is seemingly endless, with new examples popping up every day. If we want the level of discourse to be raised, if we want the conversation to rise above the cesspool it is currently mired in, then we have to be willing to step off the playground and speak like adults.

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#EFCpolfacts – The List: Because Arguing Won’t Work

As we discussed in this post, there’s no point in arguing with right wing hard core believers; you won’t change their minds. But then, those aren’t the people who will decide an election. No, the people who will decide the outcome are those whose minds can be changed, and who are truly sick of the endless bickering and ineffectiveness of those who have been voted in.

But how do we get those folks to look at facts instead of the spin that seems to be unending? By using the same tactics the right has used for decades: Repetition.

The right has employed this masterfully. They come up with a message, and they pound that message every chance they get, until they get people believing it as fact. It can be complete fabrication, but repeated often enough, it becomes conventional wisdom. Think “weapons of mass destruction” in Iraq (there weren’t any), the “controversy” over the President’s birthplace, or the rate of taxation in the US (lowest in 60 years). All of these are messages put out by the right, and all of them have in common that the right’s spin was completely unsupported by facts. And yet they persist.

So, how to combat this? By using the same tactic – with one change. Repeat facts. Keep repeating the facts over and over. And don’t argue them. That’s a key element to what the right does. You can point out flaws in their message, demonstrate falsehoods using facts and they still won’t back down. They just repeat their message. They don’t debate it, they just restate it as unassailable fact.

Here’s what you can do:

  • If you see us put out an #EFCpolfacts tweet, retweet it.
  • If you know a fact that we should feature, leave a comment here.
  • If you see the EFC post that introduces the #EFCpolfacts, spread the word.

But here’s the real tough part: Don’t debate it. Don’t discuss it. Just repeat it. If you think it’s bogus, let us know. But we’ll be posting facts that are verifiable. Just simple facts. Supported by data. Let people decide without shoving it down their throats. Just present it, over and over again.

Feel free to use them, to promote them. We will add links and tweet a new fact every day, and we will repeat them. We hope you will as well. And when you are challenged on them, simply repeat them. It’s the same tactic the right uses, with one exception – these actually are facts.

EFCpolfacts (updated 8/22/11):

  1. The last President to preside over a budget surplus was Bill Clinton, Democrat. There has not been a Republican President that has presided over a surplus since Eisenhower in 1957.
  2. S&P Specifically Names Republicans Unwillingness To Raise Revenues In Downgrade
  3. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) has asked for – and received – billions in federal stimulus money, even after saying how bad they are for the country
  4. Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) used billions of dollars in federal stimulus money to balance the Texas budget, as he claimed it was bad for the country.
  5. Rick Perry Said He Would NOT Run For President
  6. TX Under Rick Perry Has The Fourth Highest Poverty Rate Among States
  7. Under Rick Perry, TX Has The Highest Percentage Of Minimum Wage Jobs
  8. Under Rick Perry, TX Has The Highest Rate Of Adults Without High School Diplomas
  9. Under Rick Perry, TX is 48th of 50 States In Employer-Based Health Insurance
  10. Texas Under Rick Perry is #2 In Food Insecurity
  11. Under Perry, Non-Elderly Women Have The Lowest Coverage By Health Insurance
  12. Under Rick Perry, TX Ranks Last In Women Receiving Pre-Natal Care In 1st Trimester
  13. Rick Perry’s TX Is Worst In Environmental Hazards In 5 Key Categories
  14. Under Rick Perry, Workers Compensation Ranks Dead Last
  15. TX Gov. Rick Perry’s 4800 Sq. Ft. Governor’s Mansion Costs Taxpayers $8,500 Every Month
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What Americans Need To Know – Updated 8/22/11

There is a whole lot of political hand-wringing when it comes to folks on the left. Those on the far left – amazingly – don’t get that the President has been hamstrung in no small part because the right took control of the House in 2010. However, if you ask them, they’ll tell you it’s because the President’s weak/capitulated/caved/fill in your own complaint here.

It’s not true, of course, but just as the right doesn’t concern itself with facts, the far left doesn’t either. They didn’t get their pet cause handed to them with a nice pretty bow, so the President has failed them. So instead, they’d rather give the right exactly what they’re looking for – more control.

But there’s a far bigger problem. The average American isn’t far left. They’re not far right either. They’re somewhere in the middle, which means they are amenable to listening. But they’re turned off by the vitriol from both sides. They’ll listen to reason. The only problem is, they’ve learned to tune things out until they’ve heard it over and over and over.

The right has been absolutely incredible about this. They take their message, and they repeat it and repeat it and repeat it. The left has been awful. Instead of repeating their message and letting the average American make a decision, they try to debate and debunk the right, coming across as know-it-alls and elite snobs that have nothing in common with average folks.

So here’s my proposal:

On this site, on a daily basis, we will tweet/post one at least solid fact about the left and it’s strengths and/or one solid fact about the right and their weaknesses. That’s it. Won’t debate it. Won’t show both sides. Just one simple, easy to digest fact. We’ll use the hashtag #EFCpolfacts.

Here’s what you can do:

  • If you see us put out an #EFCpolfacts tweet, retweet it.
  • If you know a fact that we should feature, leave a comment here.
  • If you see the EFC post that introduces the #EFCpolfacts, spread the word.

But here’s the real tough part: Don’t debate it. Don’t discuss it. Just repeat it. If you think it’s bogus, let us know. But we’ll be posting facts that are verifiable. No emo opinions about how we didn’t get our pony. Just simple facts. Supported by data. Let people decide without shoving it down their throats. Just present it, over and over again.

The list of #EFCpolfacts will be here, and we’ll update it with each new one.

Sure, there will be those who say it won’t work. My answer – Clam it. Unless something you’re doing is actually working, get out of the way. Show me a better, more effective way to get the message out, and I’ll be behind it pushing hard. Until then, join the effort, or stay the hell out of the way.

Be sure to post your suggestions in the comments.

EFCpolfacts (updated 8/22/11):

  1. The last President to preside over a budget surplus was Bill Clinton, Democrat. There has not been a Republican President that has presided over a surplus since Eisenhower in 1957.
  2. S&P Specifically Names Republicans Unwillingness To Raise Revenues In Downgrade
  3. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) has asked for – and received – billions in federal stimulus money, even after saying how bad they are for the country
  4. Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) used billions of dollars in federal stimulus money to balance the Texas budget, as he claimed it was bad for the country.
  5. Rick Perry Said He Would NOT Run For President
  6. TX Under Rick Perry Has The Fourth Highest Poverty Rate Among States
  7. Under Rick Perry, TX Has The Highest Percentage Of Minimum Wage Jobs
  8. Under Rick Perry, TX Has The Highest Rate Of Adults Without High School Diplomas
  9. Under Rick Perry, TX is 48th of 50 States In Employer-Based Health Insurance
  10. Texas Under Rick Perry is #2 In Food Insecurity
  11. Under Perry, Non-Elderly Women Have The Lowest Coverage By Health Insurance
  12. Under Rick Perry, TX Ranks Last In Women Receiving Pre-Natal Care In 1st Trimester
  13. Rick Perry’s TX Is Worst In Environmental Hazards In 5 Key Categories
  14. Under Rick Perry, Workers Compensation Ranks Dead Last
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The Far Left Vs. The Far Right – Why The Tea Party Is Getting Its Way

To hear the folks on the right tell it, the President is running the country to hell in a handbasket and they are simply pushing back to make sure they save the country from his “socialist” schemes. To hear the far right tell it, even moderate Republicans are intent on destroying the country.

Seems like the position for the left to take would be to oppose all that. Seems like it, but you won’t convince those on the far left of that strategy. No, as hard as the right pushes against the President, the far left is pushing against him just as hard. The folks who should be fighting against the Tea Party’s penchant for handing over control of the country to the rich are instead helping them with non-stop complaints about the President.

There have been a number of posts, including this one, and this one, about how the far left folks are ignoring realities and effectively trying to kill their best hope for continued progress. But what if the reason these folks are doing this is because they see the Tea Party movement’s success and are simply trying to emulate Tea Party tactics to motivate the President to do what they want. If so, they have obviously misunderstood why the Tea Party has been successful: A willing subversion of both the Tea Party movement and Republican values for a greater gain – control Congress and the White House.

Let’s remember that the original Tea Party folks – before millions of dollars were dumped into the game – were about one thing: lowering taxes. Misguided though they were about the reality of taxes, they genuinely believed in that simple message, “lower our taxes”. But that all ended when the Republican Party and the Koch brothers realized there was an undercurrent of anger that could be exploited. That’s when truckloads of money began to be spent on creating a “Tea Party” movement. It didn’t matter how “wacky”, how crazy they appeared – they were carefully molded into groups that supposedly represented the “everyman”.

Republicans candidates realized quickly that they could capitalize on the fervor in the 2010 midterm elections, moving themselves a little farther to the right to be “Tea Party friendly”. In fact, a common tactic was to allow Tea Party rhetoric to dominate the discussion, but when that rhetoric went over the line, it would be off-handedly dismissed as “not representative” or taken out of context, with no demand for retraction or apology. Why? Because it attracted votes that a politician wouldn’t dare to court outright.

So, in the 2010 midterms, a wave of Tea Party-favored candidates came into office, and almost immediately, veteran legislators on the right saw problems popping up. These candidates were sticking with their pledges, regardless of what that might actually do to the country. And regardless of who was in control. These candidates, now elected, had no problem fighting against the established Republicans.

And a funny thing happened. The Tea Party started getting its way, even against the wishes of many Republicans. Which brings up the question – Why?

The answer is as simple as it is disturbing. The Republicans let the Tea Party have its way because their goal has not been to govern. It never has been. Their goal has been to take over the Senate and White House in addition the already controlled House. Once they have taken it over, they call the shots, completely. And to do that, they’re perfectly willing to let the Tea Party have their way. Think of it as the villains in an action movie. There’s the bad guy who says “I don’t believe in hitting women. But my friend here? He has no such compunctions”. And he points to the ugly guy standing next to him, cracking his knuckles. The Republicans don’t have to threaten anything. They just need to let the Tea Party folks have their way. That’s not an idle threat.

Now, the real problem for the Republicans will come if they actually succeed in gaining control of the Senate. Once they’ve let that djinni out of the bottle, it may be impossible to put it back in. The Tea Party will be further emboldened by their success, and will become even more intransigent.

But the Republicans don’t care. They are single minded about their goal, and they can use the Tea Party’s energy to achieve it. They don’t attack the Tea Party, and the Tea Party doesn’t attack them. Instead, they unite against a common “enemy”, and drive the vote to achieve it. They’ll deal with their internal problems once they have that control. Until then, it’s all for one and one for all.

Now, let’s go back to those same 2010 midterms. In contrast to the Republicans and the Tea Party, the far left had been hammering the President virtually since he took office. The President passed a healthcare law that no one else has come close to passing – it wasn’t good enough. He passed consumer credit legislation – he wasn’t tough enough on the banks. Nothing he accomplished – despite the Congress being the “most productive in recent history” – was enough. They didn’t get ALL of what they wanted, so the President was a failure. They urged left-leaning voters to stay home, to send a message. So, while the Republicans and the Tea Party were driving voters to the polls, the far left was trying to punish the administration.

The result, of course, was the Tea Party folks gaining a foothold.

Since then, the bashing has continued virtually non-stop and louder than ever, ignoring the fact that the President now has less power to move things forward and a House that is determined to do just one thing – get him out of office. They talk of “primarying” the President because “maybe the competition will show him where he needs to focus”, as if he didn’t know.

And this is why the Tea Party folks get their way. They and the Republicans understand that you have to have control before you can effect change. Instead, the far left does exactly the opposite – tear down their one hope for continuing the path of change.

Do they have a right, and in fact, a responsibility to push for the change they want? Absolutely. But they’ll never do it with a Republican in office. Never. The strategy of constant complaining is a guaranteed loser. But they can learn something from the Tea Party. And that is to get behind their candidate, their President, and give him back the control he needs to do the work they want. And to celebrate the wins they get, because eventually, the pendulum swings, and the other guys will try to take advantage of it.

The left’s ideas aren’t wrong. But the way they’re trying to achieve them isn’t just wrong, it’s self-defeating. And dangerous.

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Miss the 8/9/11 Show? Catch 24/7 On Demand

Topics on tonight’s show:

  • WI recall elections
  • S&P downgrade and the Dow – and the blame game
  • What the right does incredibly well, and what the left can learn from it
  • EFC’s #EFCpolfacts launch
  • Anonymity online
  • Glacier calving

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Limbaugh vs. Caesar – How Comedy Is The Perfect Analogy For Politics

From Yahoo (h/t The Political Carnival):

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Rush Limbaugh’s imitation of the Chinese language during a recent speech made by Chinese President Hu Jintao has stirred a backlash among Asian-American lawmakers in California and nationally.

California state Sen. Leland Yee, a Democrat from San Francisco, is leading a fight in demanding an apology from the radio talk show host for what he and others view as racist and derogatory remarks against the Chinese people.

In recent days, the state lawmaker has rallied civil rights groups in a boycott of companies like Pro Flowers, Sleep Train and Domino’s Pizza that advertise on Limbaugh’s national talk radio show.

“The comments that he made — the mimicking of the Chinese language — harkens back to when I was a little boy growing up in San Francisco and those were hard days, rather insensitive days,” Yee said in an interview Thursday. “You think you’ve arrived and all of a sudden get shot back to the reality that you’re a second-class citizen.”

During a Jan. 19 radio program, Limbaugh said there was no translation of the Chinese president’s speech during a visit to the White House.

“He was speaking and they weren’t translating,” Limbaugh said. “They normally translate every couple of words. Hu Jintao was just going ching chong, ching chong cha.”

He then launched into a 20-second-long imitation of the Chinese leader’s dialect.

Limbaugh defended his imitation by invoking Sid Caesar, who used to do a number of impressions of foreign languages. The difference: Caesar’s imitations actually sounded like the language he was imitating. Limbaugh just sounded stupid and insulting.

Another difference? Caesar’s imitations were designed to sound like the foreign language, while injecting intelligible words into the mix so as to be able to understand the “conversation”. The comedy came from the fact that you could understand what was being said, while it sounded like a foreign language. That’s what made it funny – you understood. Limbaugh’s comments were insulting because the only “funny” part was that he was making fun of the language itself.

Truly, it’s really the difference between the right and the left in a nutshell. Caesar’s comedy was constructed carefully so that you laughed at the circumstance the character was embroiled in, much as you felt for Chaplin’s “Little Tramp”. Without that pathos, the characters would not have held the interest of the viewing audience. It required more than a cheap laugh. On the other hand, Limbaugh has no problem with the cheap laugh. It’s all about the cheap laugh. It requires no thought, no preparation, and no pathos. It is simply an insult to the individual or group attacked for the sake of “making a funny”. Sketch comedy vs. fart jokes.

The left focuses on the backstory. They want to know the character, the storyline, to connect with the “audience”. The right doesn’t care about the character – they just want the punchline. The left works to show how their “characters”, average Americans, deserve sympathy and want you to care about the average American. The right just wants their way, to deliver the “punchline” and have their “audience” guffaw, even if the joke is on them. For the right, the average American is only worthy of “pull my finger”.

So it’s no surprise that Limbaugh went for the cheap laugh. It’s all the right knows.

The left focuses on the backstory. They want to know the character, the storyline, to connect with the “audience”. The right doesn’t care about the character – they just want the punchline.