The Hollywood Liberal

Early Morning Swim: Rep. Alan Grayson Calls for Robert “Bozo the Spokesman” Gibbs’ Firing
Yeah, this isn’t helping, Bozo.

Yeah, this really isn’t helpful.

Did he regret any of what he said to the Hill?

Gibbs allowed that he often thinks he “could have said things slightly differently” but said that after watching too much cable news, he got “frustrated by some of what’s said, and I think that’s what that answer was born out of.”

But Gibbs, notably, was not rescinding his remarks.

“What do you say to progressives who, on reading your comments yesterday, say, ‘Well, if that’s their attitude, I’m staying home in November’?”

“I don’t think they will,” Gibbs said.

Now call me crazy, but I don’t think that anti-Obama hippies are the biggest problem in the toxic universe of cable news. And as for the turnout issue, how the hell does Gibbs think Scott Brown won Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat?

This clown really should be fired.

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Dear Penthouse, I’m just a Republican Candidate who went to a well-endowed private University…(hehe well-endowed)
Dan Quayle’s son would like to remind you, he’s running for Congress and he’s against Affirmative Action.

Of course, conservatives claim to hate affirmative action, so it’s a good thing their kids can trade in on their names later in life. Which brings us to Ben Quayle, son of Dan Quayle — who is to his father as George W. Bush is to his. So give Ben some credit for being able to chew his food.

Ben is running for Congress from Arizona’s Third District. When we last encountered him he had a lovely little commercial preaching family values next to his two little girls. Except, of course, they weren’t his girls. A few apologies and promises to stay 1000 yards away from schools later, we have some new info about this chip-off-the-old-blockhead.

Ben is one of the founding contributors to a website called “The Dirty” (NSFW) which specializes in putting up pictures of women in various stages of disrobing and, of course, later shame. When asked about this, he lied…then later admitted it but could not remember ever writing anything in particular.

Well, we better remind him then.

Quayle posted under the Web alias “Brock Landers” and documented his quest to find the “hottest chick in Scottsdale.”

Family values.

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Brand New Sharpie

By Mr. Fish

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Fox finds new way to blame Obama for Bush-era policies

Stating that President Obama’s policies have “clearly failed,” Fox Business stocks editor Elizabeth MacDonald falsely suggested that Obama has been in office for three years. This follows a pattern of Fox hosts and guests blaming President Obama for Bush-era policies such as TARP, the AIG bailout, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bailouts, and the beginning of the recession.

Fox Business falsely suggests Obama has been in office for three years

Fox Business’ MacDonald: “The president’s policies have clearly failed. For three years, we’ve been living with these policies.” While guest-hosting Fox Business’ Bulls & Bears, MacDonald suggested that Obama’s policies have “clearly failed” because we’ve been living with them for three years and we are still “seeing job losses.” However, as guest Erica Payne, founder and president of The Agenda Project, pointed out, Obama has only been in office for about a year and a half.

From the August 9 edition of Fox Business’ Bulls & Bears:

PAYNE: The fact of the matter is the real unemployment rate is about 20 percent, you know, depending on who you talk to. These numbers are incorrect.

MacDONALD: But Erica, look, these —

PAYNE: These numbers are incorrect. So there are five people applying for every one job that there is.

MacDONALD: I’m sorry. The president’s policies have clearly failed. For three years, we’ve been living with these policies. They’ve clearly failed. The Reagan tax cuts are cheaper than the president’s spending plan.

PAYNE: OK. We haven’t —

MacDONALD: The Reagan tax cuts — we had —

PAYNE: First of all —

MacDONALD: Hang on. The Reagan tax cuts — we saw job growth up 6 percent. We’re seeing economic growth of 3 percent. We’re seeing job losses. So, are — should we — why are we going down the same road? Do you — don’t you think that they’ve failed so far?

PAYNE: OK, so first of all, I don’t know where the three years is, because he’s been in office for about 18 months, number one. Number two, when he went into office, there were 750,000 jobs lost the month that he went into office. OK, and then last month —

MacDONALD: All right, you’re right to correct me on the three years, but when I say the three years —

PAYNE: — and last month that we gained 71,000 jobs —

MacDONALD: All right. When I say — you’re right.

PAYNE: — and let’s be clear. Since 1999, during the entire tenure of George Bush’s presidency — and I looked this up three times, because when I first read it, I didn’t believe it — during the entire tenure of George Bush’s presidency, guess how many net jobs were created? How many net private sector jobs were created —

MacDONALD: Well, what is your number do you think it is?

PAYNE: — during the eight years of George Bush?

MacDONALD: What do you think it was?

PAYNE: Zero. Zero.

MacDONALD: I don’t know where you get that stat, but let’s stay on point. Let’s not go — let’s not do the blame Bush —

PAYNE: Well, you’re trying to say —

MacDONALD: Hang on, Erica. Let’s not do the Bush thing again, all right? Let’s stay in the here and now. And I hear what you’re saying.

PAYNE: OK.

MacDONALD: What I meant was that three years of policy, because we started spending under Bush, and now we’re spending ourselves into oblivion — no jobs created.

Fox continually blames Obama for policies that preceded his tenure

Varney claimed Bush “fixed the financial panic” but “[t]he economy fell off a cliff on President Obama’s watch.” On the July 30 edition of Fox News’ Fox & Friends, Fox Business host Stuart Varney addressed Vice President Joe Biden’s statement that “8 million jobs [were] lost in the Bush recession” by stating: “He says it’s Bush’s recession, harking back two years ago. I think that’s inaccurate. President Bush fixed the financial panic. The economy fell off a cliff on President Obama’s watch, and President Obama’s policies have not fixed that ongoing recession.” In fact, the National Bureau of Economic Research announced on December 1, 2008, that based on “economy-wide measures of economic activity,” including domestic production and employment, the recession began in December 2007.

Fox repeatedly falsely blamed Obama for TARP and bailouts. Fox hosts and contributors repeatedly advanced the falsehood that Obama was responsible for TARP, the AIG bailout, and the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bailouts. In fact, Bush proposed TARP and signed the TARP legislation. Furthermore, each of these bailouts all occurred while Bush was in office.

• Bolling blamed Obama for bailouts initiated under Bush. Fox Business’ Eric Bolling attributed TARP spending, the AIG bailout, and the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bailouts to Obama when in fact spending for all of these programs was initiated under Bush.

• Palin trashed the Obama WH over Bush administration-initiated bailouts. Fox News contributor Sarah Palin stated that a “fundamental difference” between “what’s coming from the White House” and “a lot of conservatives” is the “belief that government is not the answer. The bailouts, the takeovers of the private sector — that’s not the answer.” She went on to laud “free enterprise” and say: “I don’t think that is what we’re seeing coming out of the White House. It’s quite fundamental, the difference there.”

• Fox Business’ Smith claimed the Obama administration decided which banks would receive TARP funds. Reporting on certain banks that had repaid TARP funds, Fox Business’ Sandra Smith falsely claimed “the government, the Obama administration, deemed these banks necessary to receive these funds.” In fact, the banks Smith mentioned reportedly obtained the funds under the Bush administration in December 2008.

Hannity referred to an “Obama recession” before Obama had even taken office. In November 2008, Hannity repeatedly blamed the recession on then-President-elect Obama, attributing the market decline to the public’s anticipation of Obama’s policies. On November 11, 2008, Hannity asked (accessed via Nexis), “Is this an Obama recession?” Hannity later explained: “He promises a trillion dollars in new spending. Promises to raise the capital gains tax. Promises to tax business further and are a lot of people looking at the marketplace saying, you know what? I’m getting out while the tax rates are this level not the higher rates. So, in other words, is he causing activity in the market to go down?” According to Nexis, Hannity also referred to the “Obama recession” on November 14 and 20, 2008, and February 10, 2009 (less than a month after Obama’s inauguration).”

Fox repeatedly blamed Obama for deficit spending that occurred because of Bush policies. Fox News personalities including Bernie Goldberg, Karl Rove, Hannity, Brian Kilmeade, and Dick Morris all pushed the falsehood that Obama was responsible for a record-setting deficit of more than $1 trillion in Fiscal Year 2009. In fact, in January 2009, prior to Obama’s inauguration, the Congressional Budget Office projected that, including spending authorized under the Bush administration for the TARP and government takeovers of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the deficit would total $1.2 trillion in Fiscal Year 2009, which ran from October 1, 2008, to September 30, 2009.

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Focus on the Family buys statewide TV ads during Denver Broncos games.

Earlier this year, CBS came under significant criticism for allowing the far-right Focus on the Family to run an advocacy ad featuring Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow during the Super Bowl. (It also banned a commercial for a gay dating site.) Focus on the Family is now trying to expand its appeal to sports fans even further. The Denver Post reports that the Colorado Springs-based group is buying TV ads to air when the Denver Broncos — Tebow’s new team — plays:

Schneeberger wouldn’t disclose the price of the new ads but said costs will be covered by donations made explicitly for this project.

The ads are a logical extension of the Focus campaign to raise brand awareness among a new generation of young families that began with the Tebow ad, Schneeberger said.

He wouldn’t disclose specifics about the new campaign, except to say the ads won’t feature Tebow.

“They’re not political ads. They’re not religious ads,” Schneeberger said. “They will make people aware of the services Focus offers to help families thrive. They will make statements on social values and touch on the sanctity of life, but it would be a leap to say the ads will address family issues from a controversial standpoint.“

In February, Focus on the Family tried to run ads on the website of the NCAA, but the college athletics organization eventually pulled them, expressing concern with Focus’ anti-LGBT stances.