As expected, the Ron Paul delegates made their statement today at the GOP National Convention.
Mitt Romney supporters shouted the Paul supporters down with chants of “USA! USA! USA!”
Gay Republicans take out full page ad in Tampa Tribune supporting marriage equality
More Republicans I can like!
The Log Cabin Republicans and Young Conservatives for the Freedom To Marry are running a full page ad in the Tampa Tribune during the Republican National Convention asking the conservative party to join the clear path of history and get onboard with marriage equality. The ad points out how and why marriage equality fits into the conservative viewpoint.
From the Log Cabin Republicans press release:
The full-page color ad, featuring photos of same-sex couples and their families, emphasizes that the freedom to marry is fully consistent with principles valued by conservatives: freedom, personal responsibility, and the importance of family. The ad comes in the wake of the party’s extreme stance on marriage in its draft platform, which includes support for a federal constitutional amendment banning the freedom to marry for same-sex couples. Tony Perkins, the president of the anti-gay Family Research Council, authored the marriage plank, which is expected to be ratified at the convention.
“Gay or straight, Republicans are united in the belief that strong families are critical to a free society,” said R. Clarke Cooper, Executive Director of the Log Cabin Republicans. “As fellow conservatives, Log Cabin Republicans actually agree with Tony Perkins about the importance of family values. The difference is, we believe that the freedom to marry is directly in line with the core ideals and principles of the Republican Party – less government, more individual freedom, personal responsibility and the importance of family.”
“The writing is on the wall for the Republican Party: Stand up for the values they say they believe in, or risk being seen as irrelevant with younger conservatives,” said Sarah Longwell, Vice President at Berman and Company and a member of the Young Conservatives for the Freedom to Marry leadership committee. “This is a party that should support freedom – for all people, and all families.”
Here’s the ad below:
Quote: The Newsroom
Quote from Aaron Sorkin’s hit TV show “The Newsroom”
Poll: Majority of Americans agree wealthy should pay more in taxes
The Pew Center has released the results of a new poll that shows 58% of Americans feel the wealthy should pay more in taxes.
In addition, Pew adds “Even among those who consider themselves upper or upper-middle class, fully 52% say upper-income people pay too little. Only 10% of this group says upper-class adults say people pay too much in taxes.”
Other results of the poll show that 63 percent of those surveyed said the Republican party favors the rich. Nearly 70 percent said the Democratic party favors either the middle class or the poor.
However, it is worth noting that the vast majority of middle class respondents – 92% – say they admire the rich who get wealthy through hard work.
Chris Matthews addresses GOP party playing the “race” card
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Chris Matthews, host of MSNBC’s “Hardball,” ripped into GOP chair Reince Priebus over Mitt Romney’s “birther” joke last week and playing the “race” card in campaign ads.
Said Matthews: “It is an embarrassment to your party to play that card… This stuff about getting rid of the work requirement for welfare is dishonest — everyone’s pointed out it’s dishonest… And you are playing that little ethnic card there. You can play your games and giggle about it, but the fact is that your side is playing that card.”
Priebus wasn’t having it but Chris Matthews did not back down. Good for Matthews. Priebus and the GOP can sit back and deny, but what Chris Matthews says here is true. And the GOP knows it.
Mitt Romney – “The Do Over”
New from the Obama campaign.
Love the dramatic flair.
GOP Mayor records ad supporting marriage equality to air during GOP Convention
Republican Mayor Jerry Sanders of San Diego, California speaks out about his support for marriage for gays and lesbians, and encourages others in his party to do the same.
The Human Rights Campaign and Freedom to Marry are running this ad in Tampa during the Republican National Convention.
Wow. I think this is very effective. Great message to send that, yes, marriage equality IS a family value.
Mitt Romney goes for the “birther” joke
Campaigning in Michigan on Friday, he made a joke about President Obama’s birth certificate. Here’s what he said:
“Now, I love being home in this place where Ann and I were raised, where both of us were born. Ann was born at Henry Ford Hospital, I was born at Harper Hospital. No one’s ever asked to see my birth certificate. They know that this is the place that we were born and raised.”
As a literal statement, this isn’t true. People have asked to see Romney’s birth certificate, and his campaign released it, with little fanfare, earlier this year. As a “joke,” it isn’t very funny. And as a reference to the controversy-that-won’t-die over the president’s origins, it’s a venture into very perilous territory for Romney.
Update: JoeMyGod points out that President Obama showed his sense of humor in responding:
New Hampshire: Candidate for Sheriff says he would “consider deadly force” to prevent an abortion
A Republican – with no prior law enforcement experience – running for county sheriff in New Hampshire is facing calls to leave the race after he suggested it is acceptable to use deadly force to stop a doctor from performing an abortion.
While he has now recanted his comments, saying they are “unacceptable,” he has made no indication that he will drop out.
In a local television interview, Hillsborough County sheriff candidate Frank Szabo said that he values the life of an unborn fetus so much that, when it came to elective and late-term abortions, he’d be willing to kill for it:
But Szabo may have inflamed the issue further when asked if he would use deadly force to prevent an abortion.
“I would respond specifically by saying that if someone is under threat, a full-grown human being, if they’re under threat, what should the sheriff do? Everything in their power to prevent them from being harmed,” he said.
When pressed about what he would do if he learned that a doctor was about to perform an elective abortion, Szabo replied he would do what it took to prevent that from happening.
“Absolutely,” he said. “Well, I would hope that it wouldn’t come to that, as with any situation where someone is in danger, but again, specifically talking about elective abortions and late-term abortions, that is an act that needs to be stopped.”
Among those calling on Szabo to step down is New Hampshire’s Republican House Speaker Bill O’Brien. In a release, O’Brien wrote, “It is our hope that Mr. Szabo will withdraw from this race and think long and hard about grounding himself in constitutional law and principles before considering political office in the future.”
Irony of the day: GOP Convention theme “We Built This”
