Rick Perry's violent, shortsighted rhetoric continues to undermine the work of Texas' historically pacifistic presidential candidates. Michele Bachmann wished Elvis a happy birthday because everyone knows The King was born on the throne. And the publisher of Christine O'Donnell's memoir labeled the book a work of fiction ... y'know, like Roald Dahl's "The Witches." This is HUFFPOST HILL for Tuesday, August 16th, 2011:
BEHOLD RICK PERRY'S SHADY FUNDRAISING PRACTICES - The morning after Rick Perry called for Ben Bernanke's head because the Federal Reserve chairman is doing the job a Republican president appointed him to do, Ken Vogel has a piece detailing how Perry's presidential campaign is engaged in some dubious financial behavior as well. "Rick Perry's campaign for Texas governor last year criticized his GOP primary opponent's ties to a lobbyist caught on film apparently suggesting he could secure meetings for a deposed Central Asian politician with top Bush administration officials in exchange for a $250,000 donation to the Bush library. But this summer...they accepted help from the very same lobbyist, Stephen Payne...Payne also boasted that he helped arrange meetings with former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and Latvian Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis to burnish the Texas governor's foreign policy credentials...Another Perry ally raised concerns about whether a fundraising plea sent last week by Perry's Texas finance chairman, George Seay, could be considered a prohibited corporate in-kind contribution. Seay sent the message from an email address associated with his Dallas investment company, Annandale Capital, urging donors to immediately send the maximum $2,500 contributions to Annandale's address. It would be illegal for corporate resources to be used in direct coordination with a campaign." [Politico]
"Rick Perry's Texas Hometown Feels Abandoned By Presidential Hopeful" by Jason Cherkis.
Even Karl Rove was a little ... weirded out by Perry's Bernanke get him! moment: ""You don't accuse the chairman of the Federal Reserve of being a traitor to his country. Of being guilty of treason. And, suggesting that we treat him pretty ugly in Texas. You know, that is not, again a presidential statement." [TPM]
The president: "I'll cut him some slack; he's only been at it for a few days now."
WE ASK THE BITTER LAZY OVERPAID BUREAUCRAT TO RESPOND TO THE PARANOID SELF-LOATHING GOP LOBBYIST'S ATTACKS - "Oops. I forgot. Can i do it tomorrow? I already left for the day. [Editor's Note: Sent at 3:58 pm] ... P.S. Which aisle in whole foods do you think has tahini? Wtf [4:19 pm]." Thanks, BLOB!
Do you want to attend a seminar on how Asian Pacific LGBT Americans can harness the power of Foursquare to bring about institutional change in our nation's prisons? Or do you just want to get laid? Registration for Netroots Nation 2012 is now open.
DAILY DELANEY DOWNER - At a time when the shambling economy dominates the national political debate, a tiny Midwestern state little harmed by the Great Recession gets to decide who will lead the discussion. Just 6 percent of Iowa's workforce is unemployed, compared with 9.1 percent for the rest of the country, but Iowa voters will play a huge role in deciding which Republican will go up against President Obama in 2012 -- and also who will win that November. "Iowa has this double status as first in the nomination process and one of the few swing states as well," said Rob Richie, director of FairVote, a nonprofit that advocates for a more equitable nomination process. There are more than four times as many unemployed Americans as there are Iowans. [HuffPost]
DOUBLE DOWNER - Belated happy 76th birthday, Social Security! And we don't mean that in the Michele Bachmann sense, either! "In 1929, an estimated 50% of those 65 and up relied entirely on relatives and friends for support. For those older than 75, the figure jumps to 57%. Social Security has allowed many today's seniors to live independently in retirement. In fact, only 6.5% of seniors in 2007 lived with their children." What happened to the ones who didn't live with their children and couldn't take care of themselves? We stuffed them in poorhouses with criminals and sick people so they could die away from us. [OurFuture.org]
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RASMUSSEN: PERRY IS NOW THE FRONTRUNNER - Republican voters are so smitten with the well-coiffed, laser-sighted pistol-armed, public official-threatening ways of Governor Rick Perry that he is already the 2012 primary frontrunner. Can you imagine the boost this guy will get when he starts elaborating on his secessionist beliefs? The sky is the limit! The Rasmussen survey has Perry out front with 29 percent, Mitt Romney in second with 18 percent and Michele Bachmann in third with 13 percent. Ron Paul, who finished a strong second in the Iowa straw poll, is the choice of 9 percent of the respondents. [Rasmussen]
Rick Perry statewide strategists apparently learn about black people through Bravo reality shows: "There were also some silly things that happened that are still hard to believe. One consulting firm of his created artificial people to tweet. [The campaign] wanted to question my support in the African American community, but they couldn't recruit an African American person to do it, so on Twitter they used a stock photo of a black person. One of the people who supported my campaign clicked on the image and found out it was a singer from Atlanta. The Twitter address was registered at the same location as one of Mr. Perry's political consultants." [Texas Monthly]
@thegarance: Rick Perry wearing chaps. twitpic.com/674h8j
APPARENT PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE NEWT GINGRICH DOES SOMETHING MISGUIDED - Here's Newt Gingrich slamming "Washington elites" in a speech at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C.: "I'm going to say some things that are very bold. I'd like to somehow get across, particularly to the Washington elites, that boldness is sometimes exactly what we need...I'm going to say some things that are very bold. I'd like to somehow get across, particularly to the Washington elites, that boldness is sometimes exactly what we need." The Washington elite crowd was moved. [HuffPost's Amanda Terkel]
"As Romney began to leave the company after his hourlong visit, he looked at the owner's girlfriend, Ellen Boss. 'Nice,' Romney said as she blushed. 'Nice choice. Just like me.'"
wtf
BREAKING: Funny cat videos lubricate the gears of America's economy.
PAUL RYAN PROBABLY WON'T RUN FOR PRESIDENT, TELLING PEOPLE AS MUCH - Congress' most boy golly gee whiz-looking member likely won't run for president in 2012, but hasn't ruled out a bid entirely. "Despite a new round of urging and conversations, nothing has changed," a Wisconsin Republican apparently familiar with the situation told Roll Call. "People continue to urge Paul Ryan to run -- that group is growing, not shrinking. But I am unaware of anything changing his calculus or plan to do that." The same source indicated that Ryan has discussed the possibility of a run with Speaker John Boehner while the GOP leadership was filling out its Super Congress roster. [Roll Call's David Drucker]
ALLEN WEST, THE GREATEST POLITICIAN OF OUR TIME, CONSIDERING SENATE RUN ... KIND OF - Rep. Allen West, who you just know bugles his children awake every morning at 5:15 am., says he will consider, however halfheartededly, a run for Senate. This could be the most destructive thing to take Florida by storm since, well, a storm. "I cracked it open enough so that people can slip a note under the door and I can read the note and I can write back on the note 'probably not' and send it back out under the door," he said at a Tea Party gathering in Palm Beach County. "There are people here in the state of Florida that see me as a political entity and they are very trustworthy within the Republican Party structure. I should sit down and talk to them. But I don't think people are really going to be able to move me." [Sun Sentinel]
That door metaphor fundamentally misunderstands doors.
BECAUSE YOU'VE READ THIS FAR - Cute sloths (Cute sloths?)
The E-book version of Christine O'Donnell's memoir contains a disclaimer at the end advising readers that the book is a work of fiction. "This is a work of fiction," the note at the end of Troublemaker reads. "All of the characters, organizations and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously." [HuffPost's Amanda Terkel]
JERMEY'S WEATHER REPORT -Tonight: The low pressure system cleared the area without much fanfare, so we're in the clear. There may be a few pop-up thunderstorms, but it doesn't look like there's much on the radar. Tomorrow: Welcome back to the 90s! Otherwise, sunny skies and a bit of humidity creep. Thanks, JB!
COMFORT FOOD
- Volleyball playing dog plays volleyball. [http://huff.to/nlwqQn]
- First-person videos of people jumping from great heights never get old. Here's first-person video of someone "Slopeflying." [http://bit.ly/nJ9Ivp]
- Guy does insane bike tricks in a abandoned factory complex. The decline of American manufacturing can be fun! [http://huff.to/rlsGTE]
- Someone recreated the original "Super Mario Bros" through stop-motion animation. Well done! [http://huff.to/qPb3kj]
- "So I strapped a video camera to my 2-year old's head..." [http://huff.to/o3uH8H]
- The taxonomy of wrestler names. [bit.ly/r9rIS4]
- A video imagines what video game characters do when you're asleep ... presumably by yourself, you video game playing loser. [http://huff.to/oz5wGe]
- Ginormous dog welcomes home returning U.S. soldier. Seriously, this dog is HUGE. [http://huff.to/p8DhIl]
- What Facebook's "Like" button looks like across the globe. [http://huff.to/nZsNys]
TWITTERAMA
@daveweigel: RT @ jteeDC: @jteeDC: If Rick Perry is our President, Fitch will upgrade our credit rating from "AAA" to "Fuckin' A."
@EricKleefeld: George Bluth: "I may have committed some light...expansionist monetary policy."
@brianbeutler: Republicans refer derisively to "the Democrat party." President Obama has "some in Congress." TAKE THAT, SOME!
ON TAP
TONIGHT
6:30 pm - 7:30 pm: Someone should compile everything mean Roy Blunt said about John Kerry during the 2004 race and juxtapose those statements with images of the Missouri senator at his "Nantucket Reception" [Nantucket, MA].
7:00 pm: Jim Risch eats some bull balls with some contributors. Join him for his "Rocky Mountain Oyster and Steak BBQ." Probably the most interesting thing happening in Idaho all day [Sun Valley, ID].
Today - Wednesday: Mike Crapo actually gives his donors some bang for their buck with a two-day fly-fishing instructive trip in his home state. Are we the only people who actually like fishing? [Silver Springs Angus Ranch, 112 Price Lane, Bellevue, ID].
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