With all of the challenges and problems our country is facing, I find it almost unbelievable the Republicans have decided to focus on divisive social issues in leu of promoting solutions to our many REAL problems. With Newt's promise of $2.50 a gallon for gas, Rick's attempt at putting his hands on our women's reproductive parts and Mitt's ever growing attempts to convince us he has no history on which to judge him other than his recent maaaaaad conservatism. I used to be a Republican. Held the line for nearly 14 years. But when Ariana Huffington quit, I quit - and for the same reasons. What flies as Republicanism today has no bearing or historic link to true conservatism. A good recent example came to me yesterday. I watched a news clip/video of a Republican Congressman in Wisconsin illegally cast THREE VOTES for their states issue attempt at tightening voter qualifications because, as they claim, illegal voting in their state had become rampant! This Representative is also the husband of their vice-Governor. When he realized he had been caught on tape he claimed "everyone does it" and that he alone had been singled out. Just happened. Hope everyone gets a chance to see the tape. I still consider myself conservative but I know, at least for now, I'm no Republican.

Chris have turned you off for several weeks. Relying on the blogs, PBS etc for international news. You can turn MSNBC on at 5 and it is all Republican race with a twist on your show, Al's , Ed's , Rachels, Lawrence...how many times can a person see that empty Romney football stadium (watched last night) Yawn yawn yawn.

When are you going to step out of your comfort and pay check zone and help educate the public about IRan based on facts by having Flynt and Hillary Mann Leverett on from Race for Iran. Not asking you to have some way out lefties on or something. These folks were in the Bush adminstration for heavens sake. Take a chance. How about General Dempsey...you know another far out leftie. What are you afraid of getting fired by Comcast....by having experts on about Iran.

Over at Mondoweiss

Center for American Progress’ doubles down with lobby

by Philip Weiss on February 25, 2012 6

More evidence that the only game in Washington is the Israel lobby. The Center for American Progress (CAP), a Democratic Party thinktank under steady attack from neoconservatives for being critical of Israel, has taken on a pr firm associated with Jewish organizations, including the neoconservative Jewish Council for Public Affairs, so as to maintain its street cred. Adam Kredo reports at the Free Beacon:

The Washington Free Beacon has learned that associates of the D.C.-based Rabinowitz/Dorf Communications firm, which has a reputation for managing crises inside the Jewish community, have reached out in recent days to reporters on behalf of CAP as the group struggles to respond to charges of anti-Israel bias.

Rabinowitz/Dorf has represented a plethora of prominent Jewish organizations, such as the ... Jewish Federations of North America and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. However, it also does work for... J Street and the New Israel Fund, both of which have had their pro-Israel bona fides questioned by critics.

The communications firm has been defending CAP after weeks of damaging reports, including a Washington Post exposé in which the Obama administration’s Jewish community liaison, Jarrod Bernstein, pointedly distanced the White House from the “troubling” situation at the organization. Their defense suggests that CAP is making a conscious effort, at least on the public relations front, to repair its reputation.

Earlier this week, Ilene Cohen made the pointed observation that in the eyes of many in the Jewish community, the New York Times is a Jewish house organ and not the paper of record. But this is the political reality of the Democratic establishment; the Israel lobby is in the saddle. Obama raised $1.2 million last June at a dinner at the home of David Cohen, the executive vice president of the company that owns NBC and MSNBC. You can be sure that many of the people who gave $10,000 came from Cohen's network at the Jewish Federations, which he had headed-- and an organization that CAP's new p.r. firm also represented.

As for CAP's new bedfellow, JCPA, here is the thinktank stirring up fears of Iran's "existential" threat to Israel.

Just imagine the pressure on the journalists at CAP not to say that AIPAC is pushing war with Iran...

Obama raised $1.2 million last June at a dinner at the home of David Cohen, the executive vice president of the company that owns NBC and MSNBC. You can be sure that many of the people who gave $10,000 came from Cohen's network at the Jewish Federations, which he had headed-- and an organization that CAP's new p.r. firm also represented.

Chris: The Republicans, mostly state legislatures and Governors, are now responsible for the loss of between 650,000 and 700,000 public sector jobs. No one in the mainstream media ever mentions this at all. I believe the NYT did one article mentioning only the number of federal public jobs lost which of course is a fraction of that number.

Now due to the poison pill legislation proposed by Tom DeLay in 2005 and voted on at the last minute before the congressional break so that basically no one knew about it the Post Office is losing 36,000 jobs and closing hundreds of offices across the nation.

The mainstream media especially networks like Fox, ABC, CBS, talk radio and many if not most print media misinforms the public that the Post Office is in trouble due to modern methods like electronic mail and mis-management which as usual is a complete lie. Tom DeLay and his Republican buddies passed that poison pill legislation requiring the Post Office employees to pay 70 years of medical benefits over 10 years for employees that aren't even born yet in an effort to 1. kill the postal union (because the Republicans are on a tear to kill all unions in the U.S. since unions represent democracy and the Republicans believe in Tyranny and Fascism NOT democracy and 2. Tom DeLay and his buddies took political donations from UPS and Fed Ex who want to take over all of the Post Office's service even thought they are years away from being able to do so and have already started to significantly raise their rates in anticipation of the services they have gained for their political bribes to the Republicans.

The Post Office is and has been one of the most efficient institutions ever created and operated solely by the funds it collects from stamps NOT by taxes or congressional funds. It is an American Icon created by Benjamin Franklin that is much cheaper and more reliable than either UPS or Fed Ex especially for the majority of those of us living in rural America and unfortunately it will be our offices that are now closing. Thanks corrupt Republicans, for continuing to sell off America's commons.

Chris please do the right thing and be the only one in the mainstream media to actually cover this story. To actually inform the public that this is what they can expect, what the wealthy Republicans have been doing and will continue to do, and that is destroy and kill good jobs with benefits along with excellent, efficient, world class service so that huge corporations can provide lower paying jobs, with poor benefits, no union rights (at least during their increasingly long holiday seasons) and much worse, much more expensive service, all because they (the corporations) give a few paltry dollars to the Republican candidates for the election campaigns.

Benjamin Franklin and all of our forefathers are not just rolling in their graves, they're trying to raise as zombies to fight another revolution against the new American Tyrant's, the Republican Party and their puppet masters the corporations. I don't expect you to join the fight as your network advertise's with both FedEx and UPS and as a result has probably made an agreement with them not to cover the story and that's what's wrong with the mainstream media a complete lack of integrity but I thought I'd give it a try, for the nation and for the citizens. It's time to see if you practice what you preach.

If I read them correctly, what I believe my fellow conservatives are proposing is that we move our form of governing from that of our Constitution and Bill of Rights, to one more closely modeled after those of Mexico and Great Brittain (before Elizabeth I's reign). Once achieved though, as history has shown, the blending of church/state interests will require we sanction a "one true religion" and accompanying policies so as not to confuse our subjects. As history has shown, both Mexico and pre Elizabeth Brittain chose the Catholic Church. I suggest going the same as their paths have been well documented and we should be able to easily follow in their footsteps. If you too are students of history, as I'm sure you are, there will be much to consider once we do finally get the platform proposals our current leadership are proposing. One benefit we'll see almost immediately will be "no more illegal immigrants."

Amen!

its interesting when the only candidate left who looks any good (and is) is Ron Paul

The GOP doesn't stand a chance with its 3 so-called conservative Goobers. (definitely, no wise-men!)