When Mitt Romney loses Erin Burnett (CNN) he has had a problem

The ED Show - Romney camp struggles to explain later Bain years

Stephanie Miller with Eric Boehlert on Romney campaign

Republican Congress vote to increase their own insurance while cutting the Americans insurance

WASHINGTON -- Democrats are mocking Republicans in the House of Representatives for voting to repeal the health care reform law and keep their own enhanced medical care.

When Congress passed the health care law, it required members of Congress to get their insurance on exchanges with the rest of the public. But in voting to repeal that law, Republicans and a handful of Democrats were also voting to go back to the old system where the lawmakers get a sweeter deal than most of the rest of the country.

They also voted against a Democratic motion that said members of Congress who support repealing the health care law must also repeal the good stuff they get, such as lifetime care and insurance regardless of pre-existing conditions.

Democrats tried to demonstrate how Republicans distanced themselves from voting to protect their own deal by capturing a slew of GOP members on video saying they didn't vote to protect their own care, as seen below. The clip features a number of Republicans in tight races this year, as well as GOP budget guru, Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin.

“House Republicans refuse to admit they voted to give themselves taxpayer funded lifetime guaranteed health care instead of having the same health care as their constituents,” said Jesse Ferguson, spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, referring to the fact that members of Congress are eligible for retirement benefits after just five years.

“House Republicans didn’t just vote to protect insurance company campaign donor profits this time, they’re even helping themselves to lifetime taxpayer-funded government health care and now they need to be honest with their constituents and admit it,” Ferguson said.

originally posted here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/16/health-care-democrats-gop-repeal-vote_n_1675551.html

DISCLOSE Campaign Spending Act Blocked By Senate Republicans

DISCLOSE Campaign Spending Act Blocked By Senate Republicans:

'via Blog this'

WASHINGTON -- Senate Republicans blocked a bill Monday evening to increase transparency in campaign spending by independent groups.

In a 51-44 vote, the DISCLOSE Act failed to obtain the 60 votes needed to clear a Republican filibuster. The bill would have required disclosure of anyone who donates to independent groups that spent more than $10,000 on campaign ads -- or their functional equivalent -- and other election spending.

The bill was not expected to beat back the Republican filibuster, which was led by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). McConnell, called the "Darth Vader of campaign finance reform" in the past, recently made news by giving a series of speeches declaring that campaign finance disclosure amounted to nothing short of harassment and a suppression of speech. In one op-ed for USA Today McConnell called the DISCLOSE Act "un-American" and "an attempt to identify and punish political enemies, or at the very least, intimidate others from participating in the process."

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) was the primary sponsor of the legislation and will lead a series of floor speeches from Senate Democrats into the early hours of Tuesday to protest the Republicans' filibuster.

The Republican filibuster came after decades of statements by various Republicans that, while they opposed restrictions on campaign finance, they vehemently supported full disclosure.

"We need to have real disclosure," McConnell said as recently as 2010 in a debate over the first iteration of the DISCLOSE Act. The 2010 version of the bill, which included provisions that went beyond simple disclosure, also was blocked by a Republican filibuster in a 59-41 vote.

LP - It could be called the "just don't let them know who's buying your government act."

Top Ten Woody Guthrie Songs | Common Dreams

Top Ten Woody Guthrie Songs | Common Dreams

This Saturday, the legendary populist troubadour Woody Guthrie would have turned 100. Guthrie, best known for his iconic song “This Land Is Your Land,” has had as profound an influence as perhaps any musician in US, and perhaps world, history.

Born a hundred years ago on July 14, 1912, in Okemah, Oklahoma, Guthrie wrote hundreds of folk songs and countless ballads, as well as some beloved children’s music, and became a decisive influence on innumerable musicians, most famously Bob Dylan. The “People’s Bard” is rightly remembered as a transformative musician and song writer whose political activism and consistent advocacy for civil rights and economic equality, especially at the height of McCarthyism, inspired many others to stand tall and fight back. He scrawled “This Machine Kills Fascists” on his guitar, and he meant it.

This centennial occasion is being marked coast to coast with concerts, conferences and countless celebrations. Check out this national schedule of events and watch the videos below as a tribute to the man whose legacy includes some of the most powerful protest songs ever written.

original post: http://www.commondreams.org/video/2012/07/14

I put my own personal favorite odetta's Pastures of Plenty. What a voice.

Obama for America TV Ad: "Firms"

Excellent ad.