Today, at the Missouri Ethics Commission Governor Jay Nixon (D) continues to raise the big bucks:

C001135 09/22/2011 JAY NIXON FOR MISSOURI Ameren UE PAC PO Box 780 Jefferson City MO 65102 9/20/2011 $15,000.00

C001135 09/22/2011 JAY NIXON FOR MISSOURI Ameren Missouri PO Box 66892 Saint Louis MO 63166 9/20/2011 $25,000.00

[emphasis added]

What’s this, a little trickle down for the drought?:

C091145 09/22/2011 FRIENDS OF PETER KINDER William Darr 2951 White Oak Dr. Springfield MO 65809 ADF Vice Chairman 9/22/2011 $5,001.00

Previously: Campaign Finance: throwing good money after bad? (September 21, 2011)

Previously:

The 2011 Harkin Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa (September 18, 2011)

The 2011 Harkin Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa: Senator Bernie Sanders (I) (September 19, 2011)

The 2011 Harkin Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa: Paul Begala – part 1 (September 20, 2011)

“…President Obama, with help from the senators who are here, is going to sustain Medicare. Which works. Which helps. And let me tell you something about, this is what I’ve learned. My father is alive today because of Medicare. He’s old right wing guy, used to be a salesman in the oil field industry. But he is alive because of Medicare. And now, he voted for Reagan when I was working on him, he’s a big conservative, you know, now, oh my goodness. Don’t get between him and his Medicare. Right? He’s now the chairman of old right wing white guys in Texas for socialized medicine. [laughter] [applause] [cheers] You know why? [applause] Here’s the dirty little secret, now don’t just think it’s my daddy, we really like being alive…”

Paul Begala speaking under the big tent at the Harkin Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa on September 18, 2011.

Paul Begala was one of the featured speakers at the annual Harkin Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa on Sunday. The second portion of Paul Begala’s speech:

Paul Begala: ….And so, yeah, Senator Harkin mentioned now my, my governor, last night we were having a, a dinner. And he was pointing out that, that, by the way, it’s been a great year and, and I do thank the Lord for the rain, because it’s been a great year for Iowa farmers. He said corn exports is up, bean exports are up, hog exports are up. And he asked me, what do you all export in Texas. And I said underachieving governors. [laughter] [applause] That’s about all we’re raising down there now. And so, now we have inflicted Rick Perry on you all. [voices: “Oh.”]  Yeah, the pride of Texas A and M. [laughter], which is this little remedial school we have in Texas. [laughter] I’m a Texas longhorn, listen that’s way bigger than [inaudible]. So, if you meet him, be nice to him but talk real slow. [laughter] And somebody, now get this, this, this is a man, he took office and he’s running, he’s running, oddly enough at all, he’s running as a Republican. I thought he was running as a joke. [laughter] But, apparently now he’s running as a job generator. Now, just know this about my beloved state of Texas. On the day Rick Perry became governor unemployment in Texas was four point two percent.  Today it is eight point four percent. And he thinks that’s a miracle. [laughter] Holy smokes, what if he becomes president? What’s he gonna take it to, eighteen? You know, and, and now they released his transcript from Texas A and M. He got a D in economics. Now we understand. [laughter][voices: “Oh.”] Um, but for a guy who got a D in economics he’s made millions while being a public employee, which is pretty remarkable. So, he must be fairly astute. My favorite thing in that transcript, though, he got, this is true, he got a, check my notes, a C in animal breeding. [laughter] Hell, I got goats that got an A in that. [laughter] I mean, how stupid do you have to be [laughter][applause] to get a C in animal breeding. Birds do it, bees do it, even educated fleas do it, governor. [laughter] Holy smokes. So, ya’ll can have him. Uh [laughter], he, he may win the Iowa caucuses, I don’t know, but he ain’t gonna win Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader.  [laughter][applause] I don’t know who they’re gonna nominate. It’s none of my business, but I’m just enjoying it, enjoying the show…

…Uh, there was one poll, before Perry got in, that showed, um, Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin tied. And I thought, well, you know, not to be disrespectful, but, you know, one of ’em is just kind of another pretty face, obsessed with hair and clothes and makeup, and the other, the former Governor of Alaska. She’s a little [laughter], she’s a little more substantive, she’s a little tougher than Mitt. She’s got a lot more to her. Uh, I , I think. But he does. He’s beautiful. [laughter] He looks like the guy in the picture frame that you buy when, you know, the drug store. [laughter] [applause] But, of course, you know what happens. When we get home we take that out and put a real person in, don’t we? [laughter][applause][cheers] He, he, too, he, too, wants to run on his record of jobs. He has created thousands of jobs in Bangalore, India,[laughter] but shipped thousands of jobs from America over there. At least five different companies he took over, loaded ’em with debt, pulled out millions of dollars for himself and then shipped those jobs overseas. [voice: “Right.”] That’s astonishing. And he wants to run as the jobs guy. And as Senator Harkin said, now he goes out, and he was here at the state fair, right? And he said, yeah, well, corporations are people, too. And I felt like saying, well, people are people, too, Mitt. [laughter] How about treating us like corporations? He actually said in one of the debates that it was immoral, that was his word, immoral to have disaster relief. Immoral to help our neighbors when, when the floods have hit Senator Sanders’ state of Vermont, the fires have hit my state of Texas, it would be immoral to help them. He wants to privatize it. He did. He said we should as much as this over to the private sector because, you know, Enron and BP will be all over it. Man, right there. [laughter] That’s all they want to do is help. [laughter] It’s astonishing. So my advice, actually, to the folks in, in Vermont who, who need assistance or in New York or New Jersey where they’ve got terrible, terrible flooding or in Texas where there’s wild fires? We gotta couple options, I think. One, is to hope that somehow Bush and Cheney and Rumsfeld invade us. [laughter] Because then, oh my God, then they’ll flood us with aid, right? [laughter] And then they’ll , they’re big for rebuilding those countries. Or, the alternative is, incorporate yourself as an oil company. ‘Cause, boy, they will be there for you then. [laughter] They’re great at subsidizing the oil companies.

Um, I did see that Ms., uh, Congresswoman Bachmann, who I guess is a native of Iowa. [voices] Is still running pretty strong here. [voices: “Oh.”] Oh, come on, if I have to deal with Rick Perry you all [laughter] can take Michele Bachmann. [laughter]  And she, I saw she went out, she went out to Waterloo, right, isn’t that where she was born? [voices: “Yeah.”] And then she bragged that that was the birthplace of John Wayne. [laughter] Even I know, Winterset, the Duke. [laughter] Waterloo, John Wayne Gacy. Oh. [laughter] [applause][inaudible] She also said that the, the Revolutionary War began in New Hampshire, not in Massachusetts and that, that, that Paul Revere was riding to warn the British. [laughter] The Americans are here, the Americans are here. Well, no. [laughter] No, congresswoman, we were already here, they were coming. [laughter] Um, but that’s what she, she congratulated Elvis on his birthday when it was actually the anniversary of his death. [voices: “Yeah.”] My suspicion is that she has hired Sarah Palin to be her fact checker. [laughter][cheers][applause]

I, I’ve seen Rick Santorum running. I, I, in fact I worked for, uh, uh, Bobby Casey, Senator Casey, Bob Casey, uh, who defeated Rick Santorum, made him an ex senator. And so, I don’t want to speak about the Santorum campaign because I was raised not to speak ill of the dead and that campaign is dead, dead, dead. [voices: “Oh.”]

But I can’t, I cannot resist a little shot at our friend Newt Gingrich who is ap
parently still running, right? [voices: “Ssssss.”] Yeah. No, I, I , I asked, it was, I was, at, I was downtown DesMoines and I asked somebody about that and said, is Newt still running? This man said, yeah, we were just laughing about that a minute ago. [laughter] But he is one of the finest minds of the twelfth century [voice: “Oh, yeah.”] And so we [laughter], we’re glad to see him.

So this, this, America, this, Iowa, is what they have put up. This is what they have put up. This is what we have to put up with. But this is what they have put up to lead our country, the only super power left on God’s earth in some of the most difficult challenging times we have ever had. And I know some of us, we get frustrated, we get disappointed, I hear the grumbling, believe me, about our president and our party. But, here’s the deal, as a political strategist, you know who our chief political strategist for twenty-twelve needs to be? Henny Youngman. [laughter] Remember Henny Youngman? Every time somebody asked him, how’s your wife? He said, compared to what? [laughter] That’s all I want to ask. Every day. How’s our president?  Well, compared to what? [laughter] Right? Compared to Republicans who want to roll back the clock on equal rights and civil rights and women’s rights Barrack Obama signed the law that Senator Harkin and Senator Sanders helped to pass, the Lilly Ledbetter Equal Pay Act. [cheers][applause] You know it, so, if that’s the choice that’s easy. I’m for Barack Obama. Right. The Republicans have said, Mitt Romney said it himself and all the rest of them repeated it. If they get a chance to put, uh, justices on the Supreme Court they will be justices like Thomas and Scalia. [voices: “Oh.” “Boo.”] Okay? Compared to what? [voice: “Yeah.”] Barack Obama appointed Justice Sotomayor and Justice Elana Kagan two, two brilliant [cheers][applause] , brilliant justices. Compared to what? [applause] The Republicans, Senator Harkin used to say this, the Republican’s idea of, of a good farm program is Hee Haw. Right? [laughter] Compared to what? [laughter] Barack Obama, who has worked with Harkin for years to try to save family farms, I know in that choice, compared to what, who I’m for. I’m for Barrack Obama. It’s an easy choice [applause] for farmers here in Iowa. [applause] Compared to a Republican Party that wants, as Senator Sanders and Senator Harkin said, they want to, uh, in Rick Perry’s case, abolish Social Security. [voice: “Yep.”] He believes it’s unconstitutional. It’s criminal, he says. So we have to abolish it. Oh, and the so, the moderate is Mitt Romney who just wants to hand it off to Wall Street. Which is the functional equivalent, friend, right, what are we gonna do, invest it in Enron and, and Lehman and, you know? This is their position on Social Security, compared to what? Barrack Obama, who is gonna preserve it and protect and defend Social Security so that my mother can [applause] retire in dignity. [applause] I know which side I’m on in that fight. [applause] And the same goes for Medicare. You know, when, when Paul Ryan, the Republican House Budget Committee Chairman, passed his budget through the House of Representatives it includes an attack on Medicare so complete that the Wall Street Journal, not exactly a left wing institution, said this, it essentially ends Medicare. [whistle] Because it does. And ask Mitt Romney if he would sign it, he said, yeah, we’re on the same page, yes I would. He would essentially end Medicare. And all the rest of them are worse. Again, Perry thinks it’s unconstitutional. Right? It, it, apparently he thinks, the only thing that he’s ever read in the Constitution  is the Second Amendment. He’s never read any of the rest of ’em. [laughter] President Obama, with help from the senators who are here, is going to sustain Medicare. Which works. Which helps. And let me tell you something about, this is what I’ve learned. My father is alive today because of Medicare. He’s old right wing guy, used to be a salesman in the oil field industry. But he is alive because of Medicare. And now, he voted for Reagan when I was working on him, he’s a big conservative, you know, now, oh my goodness. Don’t get between him and his Medicare. Right? He’s now the chairman of old right wing white guys in Texas for socialized medicine. [laughter] [applause] [cheers] You know why? [applause] Here’s the dirty little secret, now don’t just think it’s my daddy, we really like being alive. [voice: “Yeah.”][laughter] And we don’t want to join those forty-two thousand that Senator Sanders talked about, right? So, we’re gonna stick with Barack Obama who is gonna help preserve and protect and defend Medicare for my father and your father and all the other mothers and fathers who need it. This is the choice. This is the real world rock bottom choice that we have to face….

The final portion of the transcript will follow in a subsequent post.

Finally.

“….Now, the Republicans, when I talked about this earlier in the week, they said, well, this is class warfare.  You know what, if asking a billionaire to pay their fair share of taxes, to pay the same tax rate as a plumber or a teacher is class warfare, then you know what, I’m a warrior for the middle class.  (Applause.)  I’m happy to fight for the middle class.  I’m happy to fight for working people.  (Applause.)  Because the only warfare I’ve seen is the battle against the middle class over the last 10, 15 years….”

The White House transcript:

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

September 22, 2011

Remarks by the President on the American Jobs Act — Cincinnati, OH

Hilltop Basic Resources-River Terminal, Cincinnati, Ohio

2:55 P.M. EDT

       THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, Cincinnati!  (Applause.)  Well, it is good to see all of you.  It is good to be back in Cincinnati.  (Applause.)  I have to say I drove by the Bengals’ practice — (laughter.)  And I was scouting out some plays in case they play the Bears — (laughter.)  Did I hear somebody boo the Bears?

       AUDIENCE:  Booo!  (Laughter.)  

       THE PRESIDENT:  We’ve got some folks I just want to make sure are acknowledged here today.  First of all, the Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, is in the house.  Give him a round of applause.  (Applause.)  We’ve got the mayor of the great city of Cincinnati — Mark Mallory is here.  (Applause.)  We’ve got the mayor of Covington, Mayor Denny Bowman.  (Applause.)  Senator Rand Paul is here.  

       AUDIENCE:  Booo –…

…THE PRESIDENT:  Rand is going to be supporting bridges, so we’ve got to — (applause.)  And we’ve got Congressman John Yarmuth in the house.  (Applause.)  

       Now, it is good to be back.  I was just in Columbus a little while ago, and I figured I couldn’t get away with not giving     Cincinnati a little bit of love.  (Applause.)

       I want to thank the good folks at Hilltop Concrete for having us here today.  I especially want to thank Ron for his introduction.    

       Companies like Hilltop, construction companies, have been hit harder by this economic crisis than almost any other industry in America.  And there are millions of construction workers who are still out there looking for a job.  They’re ready to work, but things have been a little tough.  That doesn’t mean that there is not plenty of construction waiting to get done in this country.  

       Behind us stands the Brent Spence Bridge.  It’s located on one of the busiest trucking routes in North America.  It sees about 150,000 vehicles every single day.  And it’s in such poor condition that it’s been labeled “functionally obsolete.”  Think about that — functionally obsolete.  That doesn’t sound good, does it?  

       AUDIENCE:  Nooo!

       THE PRESIDENT:  It’s safe to —

       AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Kind of like John Boehner.  (Laughter.)  

       THE PRESIDENT:  It’s safe to drive on, but it was not designed to accommodate today’s traffic, which can stretch out for a mile.  Shipping companies try to have their trucks avoid the bridge.  Of course, that only ends up costing them more money as well.  

       The thing is there are bridges and roads and highways like that throughout the region.  A major bridge that connects Kentucky and Indiana just closed down for safety reasons.  Another aging bridge that crosses over the Ohio River in Ironton could be replaced right now.  There are rail stations in Cleveland and Toledo in desperate need of repair.  And the same is true in cities and towns all across America.  It makes your commute longer.  It costs our businesses billions of dollars — they could be moving products faster if they had better transportation routes.  And in some cases, it’s not safe.

       Now, we used to have the best infrastructure in the world here in America.  We’re the country that built the Intercontinental Railroad, the Interstate Highway System.  (Applause.)  We built the Hoover Dam.  We built the Grand Central Station.  (Applause.)  So how can we now sit back and let China build the best railroads?  And let Europe build the best highways?  And have Singapore build a nicer airport?  At a time when we’ve got millions of unemployed construction workers out there just ready to get on the job, ready to do the work to rebuilding America.  (Applause.)

       So, Cincinnati, we are better than that.  We’re smarter than that.  And that’s why I sent Congress the American Jobs Act 10 days ago.  (Applause.)  This bill is not that complicated.  It’s a bill that would put people back to work rebuilding America — repairing our roads, repairing our bridges, repairing our schools.  It would lead to jobs for concrete workers like the ones here at Hilltop; jobs for construction workers and masons, carpenters, plumbers, electricians, architects, engineers, ironworkers — put folks back to work.  (Applause.)  

       There is work to be done, and there are workers ready to do it.  So let’s tell Congress to pass this jobs bill right away.  (Applause.)

       AUDIENCE:  Pass this bill!  Pass this bill!  Pass this bill!

       THE PRESIDENT:  Pass this bill!  (Laughter.)  Pass the bill!

       Tell them to pass the jobs bill, and not only will we start rebuilding America, but we can also put thousands of teachers back to work.  (Applause.)  

       I was with the President of South Korea — I was up at the United Nations.  We were doing a bunch of stuff.  And he’s told me in the past — I’ve asked him, I said, what’s your biggest challenge?  He says, oh, education.  I said, well, what are you dealing with?  He said, well, you know what, we’re hiring so many teachers we can barely keep up, because we know that if we’re going to compete in the future we’ve got to have the best teachers.  (Applause.)  And we’ve got to have our kids in school longer.  And we’ve got to make sure that they’re learning math and science.

       Well, while they’re hiring teachers in droves, what are we doing?  We’re laying off teachers.  It makes no sense in this new global economy where our young people’s success is going to depend on the kind of education that they get.  So for us to be laying off teachers doesn’t make sense for our kids, it doesn’t make sense for us, it doesn’t make sense for our economy.  

       Pass this jobs bill and put teac
hers back in the classroom where they belong.  (Applause.)

       AUDIENCE:  Pass this bill!  Pass this bill!  Pass this bill!

       THE PRESIDENT:  They need to go and pass it.  

       Tell Congress to pass this jobs bill, and companies will get tax credit for hiring America’s veterans.  (Applause.)  We’ve been through a decade of war now.  Almost 2 million people have served.  And think about it.  They’re suspending their careers; they’re leaving their families; they’re putting themselves in harm way — all to protect us.  The last thing they should have to do is fight for a job when they come home.  (Applause.)  And if we pass this jobs bill it makes it easier for employers to hire those veterans.  That’s why we need to tell Congress to do what?  To pass the bill.

       AUDIENCE:  Pass this bill!  Pass this bill!  Pass this bill!

       THE PRESIDENT:  The American Jobs Act will cut taxes for the typical working family by $1,500 next year.  It will cut taxes for every small business in America.  It will give an extra tax cut to every small business owner who either hires more workers or raises those workers’ wages.  How many people here would like a raise?  (Applause.)

       And we know that most small businesses are the creators of new jobs.  We’ve got a lot of folks in Congress who love to say how they’re behind America’s job creators.  Well, if that’s the case, then you should be passing this bill, because that’s what this bill is all about, is helping small businesses all across America.

       Everything in this jobs bill has been supported in the past by Republicans and Democrats.  Everything in this jobs bill is paid for.  The idea for a big boost in construction is supported by the AFL-CIO, but it’s also supported by the Chamber of Commerce.  Those two don’t get along on much, but they agree we should rebuild America.  (Applause.)

       And, by the way, thanks to the reforms that we’ve put into place, when we start rebuilding America we’re going to change how business is done.  No more earmarks.  No more boondoggles.  No more bridges to nowhere.  We’re going to cut the red tape that prevents some of these construction projects from getting started as quickly as possible.  And we’ll set up an independent fund to attract private dollars and issue loans based on two criteria:  how badly is a construction project needed, and how much good will it do for the community.  Those are the only things we should be thinking about.  Not politics.  (Applause.)  And, by the way, that’s an idea that’s supported by a Massachusetts Democrat and a Texas Republican.  It’s a good idea.  

       So my question is, what’s Congress waiting for?  Why is it taking so long?  Now, the bridge behind us just happens to connect the state that’s home to the Speaker of the House —

       AUDIENCE:  Booo —

       THE PRESIDENT:  — with the home state of the Republican leader in the Senate.

       AUDIENCE:  Booo —

       THE PRESIDENT:  Now, that’s just a coincidence.  (Laughter.) Purely accidental that that happened.  (Laughter.)  But part of the reason I came here is because Mr. Boehner and Mr. McConnell, those are the two most powerful Republicans in government.  They can either kill this jobs bill, or they can help pass this jobs bill.  (Applause.)  And I know these men care about their states. They care about businesses; they care about workers here.  I can’t imagine that the Speaker wants to represent a state where nearly one in four bridges are classified as substandard — one in four.  I know that when Senator McConnell visited the closed bridge in Kentucky, he said that, “Roads and bridges are not partisan in Washington.”  That’s great.  I know that Paul Ryan, the Republican in charge of the budget process, recently said that “you can’t deny that infrastructure does creates jobs.”  That’s what he said.  

       Well, if that’s the case, there’s no reason for Republicans in Congress to stand in the way of more construction projects.  There’s no reason to stand in the way of more jobs.  

       Mr. Boehner, Mr. McConnell, help us rebuild this bridge.  (Applause.)  Help us rebuild America.  Help us put construction workers back to work.  (Applause.)  Pass this bill.  

       AUDIENCE:  Pass this bill!  Pass this bill!  Pass this bill!  Pass this bill!

       THE PRESIDENT:  Let’s pass the bill.

       AUDIENCE:  Pass this bill!  Pass this bill!  Pass this bill!

       THE PRESIDENT:  Now, some folks in Congress, they say, well, we don’t like how it’s paid for.  Well, it’s paid for as part of my larger plan to pay down our debt.  And that’s why I make some additional cuts in spending.  We already cut a trillion dollars in spending.  This makes an additional hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts in spending, but it also asks the wealthiest Americans and the biggest corporations to pay their fair share of taxes.  (Applause.)

       Now, that should not be too much to ask.  And by the way, it wouldn’t kick in until 2013.  So when you hear folks say, oh, we shouldn’t be raising taxes right now — nobody is talking about raising taxes right now.  We’re talking about cutting taxes right now.  But it does mean that there’s a long-term plan, and part of it involves everybody doing their fair share.  (Applause.)

       THE PRESIDENT:  Now, this isn’t to punish success.  What’s great about this country is our belief that anybody can make it. If you’re willing to put in the sweat, if you’re willing to roll up your sleeves, if you’re willing to work hard, you’ve got a good idea, you’re out there taking a risk — God bless you.  You can make millions, you can make billions of dollars in America.  This is the land of opportunity.  (Applause.)  That’s great.  All I’m saying is, if you’ve done well — I’ve done well — then you should do a little something to give something back.  (Applause.) You should want to see the country that provided you with this opportunity to be successful, and be able to provide opportunity for the young people who are going to be coming up behind you.  (Applause.)

       And all I’m saying is that everything should be fair.  You know, you learn the idea of fairness when you’re two, three years old.  Right?  You’re in the sandbox and you don’t want to let somebody play with your truck — (laughter) — and your mom or your daddy go up and they say, “No, hon, that’s not fair, you’ve got to share.”  Isn’t that what they say?  Things have to be fair.  So all I’m saying is that Warren Buffett’s secretary should not be paying a lower [sic] tax rate on her income than Warren Buffett.  (Applause.)  That doesn’t make any sense.  A construction worker who’s making 50 or 60 grand a year shouldn’t be paying higher tax rates than the guy who’s making $50 million a year.  (Applause.)  And that’s how it’s working right now.  Because they get all these loopholes and tax breaks that you don’t get.

       So for me to say, let’s close those loopholes, let’s eliminate those tax breaks, and let’s make sure that everybody is paying their fair share — there’s nothing wrong with t
hat.  (Applause.)  

       Now, this is about priorities.  It’s about making choices.  If we just had all kinds of money and everybody was working, and we hadn’t gone through the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, then maybe we wouldn’t have to make choices.  But right now we’ve got to make some choices.  We’ve got to decide what our priorities are.  If we want to pay for this jobs plan, and close the deficit, and invest in our infrastructure, and make sure we’ve got the best education system in the world, the money has got to come from some place.  Would you rather that the oil companies get to keep their tax loopholes?  

       AUDIENCE:  No!

       THE PRESIDENT:  Or would you rather make sure that we’re hiring thousands of construction workers to rebuild America?  (Applause.)  Would you rather keep in place special tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires?  

       AUDIENCE:  No!

       THE PRESIDENT:  Or would you say, let’s get teachers back in the classroom so our children can learn?  (Applause.)  

       Now, the Republicans, when I talked about this earlier in the week, they said, well, this is class warfare.  You know what, if asking a billionaire to pay their fair share of taxes, to pay the same tax rate as a plumber or a teacher is class warfare, then you know what, I’m a warrior for the middle class.  (Applause.)  I’m happy to fight for the middle class.  I’m happy to fight for working people.  (Applause.)  Because the only warfare I’ve seen is the battle against the middle class over the last 10, 15 years.

       It’s time to build an economy that creates good, middle-class jobs in this country.  It’s time to build an economy that honors the values of hard work and responsibility.  It’s time to build an economy that lasts.  And, Cincinnati, that starts right now.  That starts with your help.  (Applause.)  Maybe some of the people in Congress would rather settle their differences at the ballot box than work together right now.  In fact, a while back, Senator McConnell said that his “top priority” — number-one priority — was “to defeat the President.”  That was his top priority.

       AUDIENCE:  Booo —

       THE PRESIDENT:  Not jobs, not putting people back to work, not rebuilding America.  Beating me.  Well, I’ve got news for him, and every other member of Congress who feels the same way.  The next election is 14 months away, and I’ll be happy to tangle sometime down the road.  But the American people right now don’t have the luxury of waiting to solve our problems for another 14 months.  (Applause.)  A lot of folks are living paycheck to paycheck.  A lot of folks are just barely getting by.  They need us to get to work right now.  They need us to pass this bill.  (Applause.)

       So I’m asking all of you — I need everybody here to lift your voices — not just in Cincinnati, but anybody who’s watching TV, or anybody who’s within the range of my voice — I want everybody to lift up their voices.  I want you to call.  I want you to email.  I want you to tweet.  I want you to fax.  I want you to visit.  If you want, write a letter — it’s been a while. (Laughter.)  I want you to tell your congressperson that the time for gridlock and games-playing is over.  Tell them you want to create jobs, so pass this bill.  (Applause.)  

       If you want construction workers rebuilding America — pass this bill.  (Applause.)  If you want teachers back in the classrooms — pass this bill.

       AUDIENCE:  Pass this bill!

       THE PRESIDENT:  If you want to cut taxes for middle-class families — pass this bill.

       AUDIENCE:  Pass this bill!

       THE PRESIDENT:  If you want to help small businesses, what do you do?

       THE AUDIENCE:  Pass this bill!  

       THE PRESIDENT:  If you want veterans to share in the opportunities of this country, what should you do?

       THE AUDIENCE:  Pass this bill!

       THE PRESIDENT:  Now is the time to act.  Because we are not a people that just sit back and wait for things to happen.  We go ahead and make things happen.  We’re tougher than the times we live in.  We are bigger than the politics that we’ve been seeing these last few months.  Let’s meet this moment.  Let’s get back to work.  Let’s show the world once again why America is the greatest nation on Earth.  

       God bless you.  And God bless the United States of America.  (Applause.)

END 3:12 P.M. EDT

Better late than never.

Today the White House launched an online service which allows individuals to create a petition and direct others to sign them. If a threshold of signatures is reached the Obama administration will direct the petition to policy officials for review:

Petition the White House with We the People

Posted by Katelyn Sabochik on September 22, 2011 at 10:25 AM EDT

Today, we launched We the People on WhiteHouse.gov- a new platform that gives all Americans a way to create and sign petitions on a range of issues affecting our nation.  And if a petition gathers enough online signatures, it will be reviewed by policy experts and you’ll receive an official response.

Throughout our history, Americans have used petitions as a way to join together around issues they care about.  We the People brings that uniquely American tradition into the 21st century.

Here’s how it works:

1. Create or Sign a Petition:  Anyone 13 or older can create a WhiteHouse.gov account and create or sign a petition on WhiteHouse.gov asking the Obama Administration to take action on a range issues.

2. Build Support and Gather Signatures for your Petition: It’s up to you to build support for a petition. Use email, Facebook, Twitter and word of mouth to tell your friends, family and coworkers about the petitions you care about.

3. The White House Reviews and Responds:  If a petition reaches a certain threshold (initially 5,000 signatures within 30 days), it will be reviewed by policy officials in the Administration and an official response will be issued….

[emphasis in original]

Ah, a big block of cheese, or art reflecting life:

“The West Wing” The Crackpots and These Women (1999)

Bob Engler: I would like you to show the President some data we’ve collected on some possible extraterrestrial contact.

Sam Seaborn: I really can’t do that.

Bob Engler: May I ask why not?

Sam Seaborn: Because the President will either yell at me or laugh at me. Either way it won’t work out well for me.

[….]

Bob Engler: [Regarding UFOs] These things happen and go unexplained. You don’t think this is something you should take to the President?

Sam Seaborn: No.

Bob Engler: Again may I ask why not?

Sam Seaborn: Because there are levels and an order to our air defense command and to jump from our radar officer to the commander-in-chief would skip several of those levels.

Bob Engler: Like what?

Sam Seaborn: Like the Pentagon and, you know, perhaps therapy.

At the White House petition site, just today:

We Petition the Obama Administration to:

formally acknowledge an extraterrestrial presence engaging the human race – Disclosure.

Disclosure Petition – Paradigm Research Group

“We, the undersigned, strongly urge the President of the United States to formally acknowledge an extraterrestrial presence engaging the human race and immediately release into the public domain all files from all agencies and military services relevant to this phenomenon.”

___

Hundreds of military and government agency witnesses have come forward with testimony confirming this extraterrestrial presence. Opinion polls now indicate more than 50% of the American people believe there is an extraterrestrial presence and more than 80% believe the government is not telling the truth about this phenomenon. The people have a right to know. The people can handle the truth.

[….]

Created: Sep 22, 2011

Issues: Foreign Policy, Government Reform, Science and Space Policy

You think that’ll get five thousand signatures?

Life imitating art imitating life?:

“Yeah, but you can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“‘Cause it’s freaking me out.”

Herding cats and Democrats, oh yeah, tough. But last Tuesday the leaders of about 25 progressive groups in the St. Louis metro area attended a conference called by Missouri Progressive Action Group, a conference aimed at forming a metro wide alliance. Okay, we’re still cats and we haven’t formed an official alliance with a name and all that stuff. But as we talked, some themes emerged.

• Lots of suggestions for coordinating and communicating with each other emerged.
• We’re all fed up with the lack of dynamic messaging. And we want message discipline–that’s if and when we have figured out the messages that will move people.
• We need to use social media more effectively. Mohammar Ghaddafi could tell you that Facebook is not just about what somebody had for breakfast. Same with Twitter.

Deb Lavender moderated for the day. She made introductions by asking one person to take hold of a ball of yarn, introduce himself and throw the ball to someone he knows. And so on. By the end, the web of interconnectedness was obvious–and we had all been introduced.

We spent the morning voicing concerns and trading ideas. The conference ended with Lavender promising to propose some ways we could start getting coordinated. And that, of course, is how cat herding works–not with lariats and spurs, but with promises of better ways to catch a mouse.

The next monthly meeting of Missouri Progressive Action Group (MOPAG) is Sat., Oct. 1, at the St. Louis County Library Headquarters from 12:30 to 2:30. Our guest speaker will be Rep. Stacey Newman, the head of the progressive caucus in the House. November’s speaker will be Jeanette Mott Oxford. Come and join a group that is going to make good things happen.

Today, at the Missouri Ethics Commission, Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder’s (r) long drought finally ended:

C091145 09/21/2011 FRIENDS OF PETER KINDER Curtis Jared 2870 S. Ingram Mill Rd. Ste. A Springfield MO 65804 Jared Enterprises Executive 9/21/2011 $5,001.00

C091145 09/21/2011 FRIENDS OF PETER KINDER Jerry Hall 13294 ST HWY BB Monett MO 65708 Jack Henry & Assoc. Executive 9/21/2011 $10,000.00

C091145 09/21/2011 FRIENDS OF PETER KINDER Innovation Homes LLC 1730 E. Republic Rd. Ste. F Springfield MO 65804 9/21/2011 $10,000.00

C091145 09/21/2011 FRIENDS OF PETER KINDER W Patrick McGinnis 17 Bridle Ridge Lane Huntleigh MO 63131 Nestle Purina PetCare Executive 9/21/2011 $5,001.00

[emphasis added]

You’ve got to wonder if Texas Governor Rick Perry (r) should be contacting Missouri’s Lieutenant Governor for advice on ending long droughts.

I finally got around to looking at the statement issued by former State Rep. and failed state senatorial candidate, Cynthia Davis, about her decision to leave the GOP and run for office on the Constitutional Party ticket. There are, as you might expect, lots of sour grapes. For instance, Davis seems aghast that political parties might show a preference for one primary candidate over another, essentially picking winners and losers before the election. (She claims less favored GOP primary candidates are not given access to vital polling information.) This observation is interesting because it suggests that Davis’ off-the-wall extremism was as disquieting to the GOP establishment as to the rest of us. I suppose nobody likes setting themselves up for ridicule.

Be that as it may, what struck me most was Davis’ new found awareness that money is the name of the game in GOP politics – although, to be fair, she strikes a “pox on both their houses” stance that, quite correctly, includes Democrats as well:

The existing political parties can’t be reformed because there are just too many special interests with too much money to allow it. When I joined the Republican Party, it was to make our state better, not to be a member of some elite social club.

There are no doubt some sour grapes here too – whenever somebody says they don’t want to join an “elite social club,” you can bet they haven’t been invited to do so – but, more importantly, one wonders just how Davis could have been involved in GOP politics for all those years without figuring out the role played by “big money.” Has she just realized that, as she puts it, “legislative priorities are defined by the largest campaign donors.” She adds, wide-eyed innocent that she is:

Giving leadership and chairmanship positions to those who donate the most money to the party is the common practice in both Washington D.C. and Jefferson City. This is similar to buying Senate seats and perverts the process of selecting the most qualified and competent people. This allows “Big Money” instead of better ideas to set the agenda.

I can’t help wondering if Davis would have been quite so bitter if she had been able to raise the money to “buy” a Senate seat? But putting aside speculation about the behavior of women scorned, what I really want to know is whether or not this means that she is actually calling for campaign finance reform? And if so, how does she reconcile this position with her membership in Missouri’s Constitutional Party? The Party’s platform explicitly states, under “Election Reform,” that:

We call for a repeal of all federal campaign finance laws (i.e. McCain-Feingold) due to their violation of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

So what exactly does Ms. Davis propose to do about the endemic corruption she describes, corruption she believes to be so pervasive that she can no longer be associated with the party in which she has served for at least a decade? Especially since lots of the abuse of money that she so decries is currently absolutely legal – the right-leaning judges of the Supreme Court have, after all, decided that money is speech. Does little Cynthia really think that the Constitutional Party Fairy is going to wave a wand and make all the naughty, old special interests go away? Or is she just bitching about the role of money in politics for the fun of it?

Take a look at the video of Elizabeth Warren talking about taxes that Michael Bersin posted today if you want to understand why the Buffet rule involves the issue of fairness. Then consider the following fact about anti-tax crusaders Vicky Hartzler, Sam Graves, Blaine Luetkemeyer and Billy Long:

Just a few of the small-minded, mean-minded and very wealthy Missourians who are busy working middle class Missourians over. As for the case that Elizabeth Warren makes for asking these folks to finally pay their fair share, I echo Steve Benen’s longing for principled, articulate Democrats:

… if more Democrats were able to make the case for the underlying social contract as effectively, our discourse would be vastly less mind-numbing.

To quote Michael Bersin: “Any questions, Claire?”  

Well, look at this:

Steelman, Perry lead MO GOP races, Kinder vulnerable [pdf]

…In the same time frame, Sarah Steelman has jumped into a lead over Todd Akin for the right to face vulnerable Sen. Claire McCaskill. She leads him 40-29, with John Brunner at 6%, and 26% undecided. Akin has not picked up any supporters in the interim; he led Steelman 29-28 four months ago, with Brunner also still at 6% and Ed Martin, who has since dropped out, at 9%. The difference is that Steelman has reversed Akin’s leads with those who say they are somewhat conservative (36% of the electorate) and moderate (15%). Akin led with those groups by respective eight- and three-point margins in the previous poll, but Steelman now leads by whopping 21- and 33-point spreads, while also leading by one with the 46% plurality of voters furthest to the right….

….PPP surveyed 400 usual Missouri Republican primary voters from September 9th to 12th. The margin of error for the survey is +/-4.9%. This poll was not paid for or authorized by any campaign or political organization. PPP surveys are conducted through automated telephone interviews. PPP is a Democratic polling company, but polling expert Nate Silver of the New York Times found that its surveys in 2010 actually exhibited a slight bias toward Republican candidates….

….Q12 If the Republican candidates for Senate were

Todd Akin, John Brunner, and Sarah Steelman,

who would you vote for?

Todd Akin ……………………………………………….. 29%

John Brunner ………………………………………….. 6%

Sarah Steelman ………………………………………. 40%

Not sure …………………………………………………. 26%

And the word in the Twitterverse from Sarah Steelman’s (r) campaign?:

@SteelmanCamp Sarah Steelman 2012

Sarah Steelman’s leading the primary race for Senate with 40% to 29% for Todd Akin and 6% for John Brunner. Akin… fb.me/1dzgjJp6j 20 hours ago

Don’t you just love republican primaries?

Elizabeth Warren (D) is running for the U.S. Senate seat in Massachusetts in 2012. Watch and learn:

Elizabeth Warren (D): My favorite part of looking at this hole, we got in this hole, uh, uh, one billion doll, uh, one trillion dollars on tax cuts for the rich under George Bush. We got into this hole two trillion dollars on two wars that we put on a credit card for our children and grandchildren to pay off. And we got into this hole one trillion dollars on a Medicare drug program that A, was not paid for, and B, is forty percent more expensive than it needs to be because it was a giveaway to the drug companies. So, we just have, I mean, that’s four trillion right there. [applause] So part of the way you fix this problem is, like, don’t do those things. [laughter][applause] Uh, no, I’m serious….

I hear all this, you know, well, this is class warfare, this is whatever. No. There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own. Nobody. You built a factory out there, good for you. But I want to be clear, you moved your goods to market on the roads the rest of us paid for. You hired workers the rest of us paid to educate. You, uh, were safe in your factory because of police forces and fire forces that the rest of us paid for. You didn’t have to worry that marauding bands would come and seize everything at your factory. And hire someone to protect against this, because of the work the rest of us did. Now look, you built a factory and it turned into something terrific, or a great idea. God bless. Keep a big hunk of it. But part of the underlying social contract is you take a hunk of that and pay forward for the next kid [applause] who comes along…

Any questions, Claire?