New Gingrich Tells A Story About A 6 Foot
‘Transvestite’

post from ThinkProgress on 28 February 2012 04:00:04 PM. © ThinkProgress

During an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle on Friday, Newt Gingrich was asked to explain what Republicans mean by the phrase “San Francisco values,” which the party often uses to describe Democrats’s support for liberal social policies like same-sex marriage. Gingrich responded by telling a story about his experiences in the city during the 1984 Democratic convention, when, while being interviewed by CBS News, the former Speaker was approached by “a transvestite”:

GINGRICH: CBS is interviewing me and this guy toses me this perfect softball, you know. “The Republicans are going to Dallas — which has the largest Baptist Church in the country. The Democrats are here in San Francisco, which has the largest gay movement in the country. Does this say something about the two parties.”
Literally at that moment a 6’2″ transvestite walks up to me and hands me an invitation to an exorcism of Jerry Falwell by Sister Boom. The guy from CBS says, ‘cut. I cannot send this to New York. They will never believe you didn’t stage this.’ I just cite that as some vague ? I really mean the Sierra Club, which has gone off the deep end as a general rule. Basically very, very left-wing values.

Watch it:

As Raw Story notes, in 1984, “gay activist Sister Boom Boom and five members of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence did perform a mock exorcism of actors dressed as Rev. Jerry Falwell and anti-feminist Phyllis Schlafly in Union Square.” ?They are here in the name or morality,? Sister Boom Boom reportedly the said of the two conservative icons. ?To equate morality with sexual behavior takes a filthy, prurient mind.?

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http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2012/02/28/434197/new-gingrich-tells-a-story-about-
a-6-foot-transvestite/

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Maryland Marriage Equality Opponents File
Referendum Paperwork

post from ThinkProgress on 28 February 2012 04:00:04 PM. © ThinkProgress

Though Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) won’t sign the marriage equality legislation into law until Thursday at 5 P.M., opponents of the measure have already filed the necessary paperwork to start collecting signatures for a referendum to overturn the bill. They will have until June 30 to collect 56,000 valid signatures in order to successfully put the issue up to a referendum in November. The law is set to take effect in January of 2013, well after a referendum would take place.

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http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2012/02/28/434208/maryland-marriage-equality-oppone
nts-file-referendum-paperwork/

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Gingrich: Santorum ‘Strongly
Overreacted’ To JFK’s Religion Speech

post from ThinkProgress on 28 February 2012 04:00:04 PM. © ThinkProgress

Newt Gingrich chided fellow GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum today for saying he wanted to “throw up” when he heard a speech by President John Kennedy about the need for a separation of church and state. Santorum has walked back the comments a bit, but Gingrich told conservative radio host Laura Ingraham that Santorum “strongly overreacted” to JFK’s speech (he also misrepresented it, as Salon’s Joan Walsh pointed out). “At the time it was seen as a brilliant and effective speech, and I think it was,” Gingrich said, comparing Kennedy to GOP icon Ronald Reagan. Listen here:

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http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/02/28/433823/gingrich-santorum-jfk-religion
/

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Congressional Western Caucus Members’
Crusade Against Regulations Is Remarkably Out of Touch With Westerners

post from ThinkProgress on 28 February 2012 04:00:04 PM. © ThinkProgress

By Jessica Goad, Manager of Research and Outreach, Center for American Progress Action Fund.

The Congressional Western Caucus, consisting entirely of Republican members of Congress, held a hearing this morning entitled ?Washington Barriers to Prosperity and Property Rights in the West.? It was an opportunity for members to criticize a variety of regulations that protect our lands, water, air, and public health like the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, and the Wilderness Act. Congressman Steve Pearce (R-NM), co-chairman of the caucus opened the hearing by saying that such regulations are ?devastating the West.?

Members also accused the administration of killing jobs, in ways such as Interior Secretary Ken Salazar?s recent decision to withdraw 1 million acres around the Grand Canyon from new uranium mining. Senator Orin Hatch (R-UT) railed against ?the extremist policies of this administration.?

But, new on-the-ground evidence shows that westerners don?t necessarily believe with the assertion that regulations kill jobs. A recent poll from the Colorado College State of the Rockies Project found that voters in six western states overwhelmingly believe that regulations do not harm business. Only 38 percent of respondents agreed (and 60 percent disagreed) with the statement that:

One of the best ways to create jobs is to cut back environmental regulations that are weighing down [your state?s] businesses.

Another question on the poll asked, ?when you hear about the laws that govern industry’s responsibility for [your state?s] clean water, clean air, natural areas and wildlife do you think those are more likely to be??:

- 63 percent answered ??important safeguards to protect private property owners, public health and taxpayers from toxic pollution and costly clean?ups.?
- 29 percent answered ??burdensome regulations that tie up industry in red tape, hurt them too much financially, and cost jobs.?

On top of this, westerners are not particularly trustful of the mining, drilling, and logging companies that Republicans promote and defend. In fact, only 21 percent of voters queried in the poll believed that ?we can trust companies to act responsibly to protect [your state?s] land, water and wildlife on their own, without laws and regulations that require them to do so.?

Rather than bash environmental regulations, Republican leaders would do well to listen to what their constituents are telling them?that regulations help keep protect and preserve the land, water, air, and wildlife that makes the American West so unique.

Read The Full Article:
http://thinkprogress.org/green/2012/02/28/434016/congressional-western-caucus-mem
bers-crusade-against-regulations-is-remarkably-out-of-touch-with-westerners/

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Preview of Arizona and Michigan Primaries

post from Crooks and Liars on 28 February 2012 04:00:02 PM. © Crooks and Liars

State: Arizona

Type of election: Primary

How it works: This is a standard closed primary where only Arizona Republicans who were registered before January 30 will be able to vote. 29 delegates are at stake. There is no Democratic primary.

Official election results: Arizona Secretary of State

Republican candidates: Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum (all others have dropped out or are polling at less than 1 percent)

Previous performance: In 2008, Romney finished second to John McCain with 35 percent of the vote while Paul finished fourth with 4 percent. Barack Obama finished second to Hillary Clinton with 42 percent.

Newspapers: Arizona Republic, Phoenix New Times, full list

Television stations: Full list

Progressive blogs: Arizona Eagletarian, AZ Netroots, Democratic Diva, Friendly Fire, Random Musings, Rum, Romanism and Rebellion

Latest polling: New York Times:

We Ask America: Romney 43 percent, Santorum 27, Gingrich 21, Paul 10

PPP: Romney 43, Santorum 26, Gingrich 18, Paul 11

ARG: Romney 39, Santorum 35, Gingrich 11, Paul 9

Rasmussen: Romney 42, Santorum 29, Gingrich 16, Paul 8

NBC/Marist: Romney 43, Santorum 27, Gingrich 16, Paul 11

Nate Silver gives Romney a 99 percent chance of winning.

Bottom line: Romney needs an easy win or two to maintain front-runner status and it looks like Arizona is going to give him one.

State: Michigan

Type of election: Primary

How it works: While technically, the primaries are closed, Michigan does not require voters to state their party when registering. On primary day, voters choose which ballot they wish to vote on in writing, and can only choose one party ballot. 30 delegates are at stake.

Official election results: Michigan Secretary of State

Republican candidates: Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum (all others have dropped out or are polling at less than 1 percent)

Democratic candidates: Barack Obama

Previous performance: In 2008, Romney won the Michigan primary with 39 percent, Paul finished fourth with 6 percent. Because of the early date of the primary, Obama withdrew from the primary and did not appear on the ballot.

Newspapers: Detroit Free Press, Detroit News, full list

Television stations: Full list

Progressive blogs: Michigan Liberal, Blogging for Michigan

Latest polling: New York Times:

PPP: Romney 39, Santorum 37, Paul 13, Gingrich 9

We Ask America: Romney 37, Santorum 33, Paul 18, Gingrich 13

Mitchell: Santorum 37, Romney 35, Gingrich 9, Paul 8

Rasmussen: Romney 38, Santorum 36, Paul 11, Gingrich 10

ARG: Santorum 36, Romney 35, Paul 15, Gingrich 8

Baydoun: Romney 39, Santorum 31, Gingrich 9, Paul 9

Nate Silver gives Romney a 64 percent chance of winning and Santorum a 36 percent chance.

Bottom line: Silver understands the numbers better than I do, but this one really looks like a toss-up to me at this point. A Santorum win or close second means that nothing will be solved any time soon. A last place finish for Gingrich makes it hard to see how he can keep going much longer. As always, Paul is largely irrelevant.

Read The Full Article:
http://crooksandliars.com/kenneth-quinnell/preview-arizona-and-michigan-prim

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Michigan and Arizona primary benchmarks and
predictions

post from Daily Kos on 28 February 2012 03:49:27 PM. © Daily Kos

Seal of Michigan The Republican roller coaster ride continues on to Michigan and Arizona tonight. While Arizona doesn't seem like it'll present much challenge for Mitt Romney, polling in Michigan in the last few days has shown a dead heat between Romney and Rick Santorum, and we'll probably be watching the count for a looooooong time tonight.

In Michigan, Romney and Santorum have both been hovering in the high 30s; in fact, for a brief time on Monday night, 538's rolling projection had them both tied at 37.6%. As of today, Nate Silver is projecting Romney 39.0, Santorum 38.1.

That's very handy for purposes of establishing benchmarks, because Mitt Romney also got 39% in Michigan last time, in 2008. In other words, I don't need to make any adjustments; I can simply put up 2008's numbers county by county and they can be Romney's benchmarks for viewers at home to see if he's maintaining the pace he needs to hit 39% statewide. There's, of course, a caveat that comes with that, in that Romney was running to the right of John McCain in 2008, while he's certainly to the left of Santorum this year, meaning that some of the Romney votes in 2008 might turn into Santorum votes this year, while some of the McCain votes in 2008 might become Romney votes this year, so the county numbers won't necessarily extrapolate the same.

(Continue reading under the fold)

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/TTgcvny804Y/-Michigan-and-Arizona-
primary-benchmarks-and-predictions

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Firedoglake Members Help Us Innovate for Change

post from Firedoglake on 28 February 2012 03:40:16 PM. © Firedoglake

The Firedoglake Memberhsip program is vitally important to sustain Firedoglake's progressive reporting, analysis and community activism. And it's helping us explore the intersection of online and traditional activism more and more. Occupy Supply is a[...]

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/firedoglake/fdl/~3/XeqIN3ggtAQ/

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Romney backers fought for open primary

Oops.

According to a Michigan Republican State Committee (MRSC) member, Romney backers in statewide Republican leadership roles, including the governor and attorney general, pushed for an open Michigan primary. These open primary rules allow voters to vote in either party?s primary without declaring any party affiliation.

It turns out, Romney backers didn't just push an open primary in Michigan; they also beat back efforts to require signing a document affirming that voters were really Republican.

Governor Snyder?s staff whipped Republican statewide legislators into line on the open primary option. Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, Romney?s current state chair, joined the governor in whipping Republican elected officials into line on this. Michigan?s Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley, another prominent Romney supporter, joined in this concerted effort to achieve an open primary in 2012, communicating to every state committee member the governor?s position. Saul Anuzis, Republican national committee-man for Michigan and Romney supporter, also played a significant role in building support for the open primary.

Conservative Republicans opposed the open primary?sensibly. No primaries should be open. They feared that liberals would be able to meddle in the affair given the lack of a contest on the Democratic ballot. But Romney's team was convinced that they would benefit from liberal crossover support.

So now, while Romney moans about Democratic crossover voters, fact is, it was his team that made that crossover support possible. Ironic, isn't it?

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/07DTAcYF2aM/-Romney-backers-fought
-for-open-primary

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Virginia Passes Sonogram Bill After All

In the end, even Jon Stewart couldn't kill the Virginia ultrasound bill. After more than a week of protests and national attention, the state Senate passed an amended version of the measure Tuesday afternoon which will require women seeking an abortion to get an ultrasound 24 hours ahead of the procedure. The Senate did unanimously pass an exemption for victims of rape and incest, but other amendments fell flat, including one to mandate insurance coverage of the sonograms. The House has already passed a version of the bill and it appears now to be headed for law.

Much of the protesting focused on "transvaginal" ultrasounds, highly invasive procedures that would be required to get a clear image of a fetus in the very early stages of pregnancy. Opponents called the bill a "state rape" mandate. The Daily Show even had a bit on it. Public support for the measure tanked and, under pressure, the state's socially conservative Governor Bob McDonnell announced he opposed requiring transvaginal sonograms for women. It looked like a victory, until Republicans came back with a revised version of the bill, mandating transabdominal ultrasounds for women seeking abortions. The governor has said he'd support an amendment bill.

The new requirement may be less invasive, but the bill lacks basic logic: if a woman gets an ultrasound early in her pregnancy, the transabdominal ultrasound won't show anything. "I might as well put the ultrasound probe on this bottle of Gatorade?I'd see just as much," said Democrat state Senator Ralph Northam.

As the only doctor in the chamber, Northam was particularly vehement in criticizing the measure. "It's telling me, it's telling my colleagues how to practice medicine," he said. "And it's coming from nonphysicians.

"Nobody in this room would choose or like to have a woman have an abortion," Northam continued. To actually decrease abortion rates, "we need to talk about things like education, promoting abstinence amongst our children before marriage, about access to healthcare, and contraception for our young women."

Democrat Louise Lucas gave the most impassioned speech against the measure. "This is a veiled effort to guilt women, " she said. "Women who want to have abortions will go to back alleys. Women will die."

The bill's sponsor and those supporting the measure didn't say much to defend the bill. They just passed it.

Read The Full Article:
http://prospect.org/article/virginia-passes-sonogram-bill-after-all

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