Summarized: “Millionaires and billionaires need to pay their fair share. My plan would have cut the deficit. John Boehner, a GOP hardliner held hostage by the extremist TEA Party, refused it, because he wants to protect fat cats and deprive the government of revenue. That I would happily spread to you. Once I took my cut. For fairness.” Repeat as necessary. And to think, we’re paying for this. Of course,

It’s true. The takeaway? America hates the TEA Party and really desires a guy like, say, Romney or Huntsman, who will recognize the need to raise taxes and not get all bunged up about debt or deficit spending. Seriously. Political experts say so. So. Back to your holes, Hobbits. The serious, sober, realistic adults who got us here will take over now. Because you demand it! Pragmatism.

Jeff Bell, director of policy of the Washington-based advocacy group American Principles and director of its GoldStandard2012 project, writing in the Washington Examiner: What cannot be argued is that in the post-1971 system, the role of the Fed is to set short-term interest rates. The open market committee’s announcement last week means that by the middle of 2013, the Fed expects to be enjoying its fifth year of vacation from

James Robbins: […] White House Press Secretary Jay Carney explained Thursday that paying out unemployment checks “is one of the most direct ways to infuse money directly into the economy because people who are unemployed and obviously aren’t running a paycheck are going to spend the money that they get. They’re not going to save it, they’re going to spend it.” True, they probably will spend the money, on their

Because there’s something about conservative woman and the “button” that really twists Will’s bow tie. First, with Palin, Will seemed to intimate that not having gone to the right schools — or not coming from the right kind of background — redounded against her as a presidential choice. And while this position surely flies in the face of the quintessentially American notion that any child can grow up to be

LegalNewsLine: A federal appeals court has sided with 26 states in their challenge to President Barack Obama’s health care reform. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ruled Friday that a provision of the law that requires individuals to purchase health insurance or face an annual penalty is unconstitutional. The ruling affirmed an earlier decision by U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson of northern Florida.

Q: Why did the chicken cross the road? A: You got me. But if it has anything to do with Ron Paul being bugfuck crazy, I’d totally sympathize.

Carter Country, redux! Confidence among U.S. consumers plunged in August to the lowest level since May 1980, adding to concern that weak employment gains and volatility in the stock market will prompt households to retrench. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of consumer sentiment slumped to 54.9 from 63.7 the prior month. The gauge was projected to decline to 62, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg News

I have to say that Romney handled the few digs aimed his well quite deftly. As I noted in an earlier comment, he’s polished and slick, and he’s got the political game down. He’s also been forced to move to the right. But when he sticks in bits like investing in “human capital,” I hear “compassionate conservatism” and I think of spending deals cut with Democrats. Perry is going to

Discuss how much you wish Michele Bachmann and her crazy bigoted eyes would just die die die! (and other things) right here.