Mac ‘n Sleaze

From John Cassidy at THE NEW YORKER:

Take the ludicrous suggestion that Freddie Mac, the smaller of the two government-sponsored mortgage giants, may have expected Newt to do some lobbying on its behalf when, in 2006, it paid him the very modest sum of $300,000. Any fair-minded person would agree that Newt quashed this idea during one of last week’s debates. He explained that Freddie’s executives hired him for his expertise as a historian, adding that he warned them to stop lending money to folks who couldn’t repay their loans. In Newt’s own words: “My advice as a historian, when they walked in and said to me, ‘We are now making loans to people who have no credit history and have no record of paying back anything, but that’s what the government wants us to do.’ As I said to them at the time, this is a bubble. This is insane. This is impossible.”

That explanation was more than good enough for me. But darn it if a couple of quibbling scribblers from Bloomberg News didn’t put out a report yesterday, quoting former executives of Freddie Mac saying that Newt was hired “to build bridges to Capitol Hill Republicans and develop an argument on behalf of the company’s public-private structure that would resonate with conservatives seeking to dismantle it.”

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I’ll take ‘Rigging Elections’ for a few million, ALEC

From Sandra Khalifa at CAMPUS PROGRESS:

If there has been any doubt regarding the intent behind this year’s upsurge in voter ID legislation, Governor Scott Walker’s latest move leaves little room to question the conservative disenfranchisement agenda, at least in the state of Wisconsin. In what seems like a blatant attempt to lessen the accessibility of photo identification, Governor Walker’s administration has announced the closure of sixteen DMV centers throughout the state – for “economic” purposes.

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Plastic Bag

From VANITY FAIR:

Over the last two days, both The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, perhaps reacting to Newt Gingrich’s announcement of his forthcoming announcement concerning his presidential ambitions, have published pieces about Gingrich’s “secret weapon.” According to The Times, it just may be Callista Gingrich, Newt’s former mistress and current wife, while the Journal identified Gingrich’s “secret weapon” as his conglomerate of “advocacy and for-profit groups,” known unofficially as Newt Inc.

Yeah, because women are going to flock to a woman who calls herself a religious Catholic and was cheating with a married man who later ditched the ex and married her.

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El Pandering

From POLITICO:

Newt Gingrich has come a long way since criticizing Latinos a few years ago for continuing to speak “the language of living in a ghetto.” He’s taking Spanish lessons, reaching out to Hispanic community leaders, and supports “finding a way for residency” for some illegal immigrants.

But mounting a successful presidential bid means winning over GOP primary activists — many of whom favor a hard-line immigration crackdown — and that means Gingrich’s moderate positions could spell big trouble for him in the early-voting states, strategists say.

…snip…

He recently attended a Texas conference on strengthening Latino and Jewish dialogue, and regularly publishes op-eds in Spanish.

Pander much?

It’s Comical, Part 4: Comic Book Books Edition

There are some cartoon characters who start out in the funnies and then show up in books. For example, there’s Little Orphan Annie. It was a daily comic strip written and drawn by Harold Gray. It ran for 86 years, ending in June 2010. We don’t have to miss it, though, as Governor Jan Brewer has taken her place.   Makes sense to me, as Governor Jan sorta looks like a Leapin’ Lizard.  You probably heard the sad story Jan tells about her father dying while fighting the Germans in World War II.  Such a good story.  Too bad it wasn’t true…

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(Sheriff Joe Arpaio is making a guest appearance as Daddy Warbucks Waronhispanics)

The Raisin Galvanizes for Steele!

From VANITY FAIR:

The race for the absolute top-spot in Republican fundraising is heating up this week, as contenders for the Republican National Committee chairmanship seem more eager than ever to oust the organization’s current head, Michael Steele. Yesterday, at a debate organized by a Tea Party group, four likely contenders for the chair denounced Steele’s spotty record of fiscal and fundraising mismanagement. While it remains to be seen whether Steele will seek a second term, many of his presumptive adversaries have already formally declared their intentions to depose him.

I don’t know about you, kids, but I think Michael Phathead Steele should run again and should be reelected. Why? Glad you asked. For one thing, nobody can rock a Carmen Miranda hat like Phathead…

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The Rethuglicans are always trying to reach out to the Hispanic population, and how could they not love that?

Harry Reid Mans Up!

From POLITICAL HOTSHEET at CBS NEWS:

The race for Senator in Nevada came down to which group was motivated to vote more for their candidate. The winner is incumbent Harry Reid, who was able to beat back a formidable, Tea Party-backed Republican opponent. Preliminary results from the CBS News exit poll in Nevada showed that 11% percent of the electorate decided whom to vote for within the last three days or sometime within the last week. A majority of this group went to Reid, the Democratic incumbent [...].

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The Macaca Awards! Part II

We continue with nominations for the Mock, Paper, Scissors-Hysterical Raisins 1st Semi-Regular Macaca Awards.

(Image courtesy of Tengrain)

Tonight’s category is Outstanding Achievement in Race Baiting, and the nominees are: