Boehner's fuzzy math

The Hill calls out John Boehner for nonsensically proposing to balance the budget by cutting taxes on the wealthy:

Most of the budget savings from House GOP Leader John Boehner’s proposed spending cuts would be canceled out by the extension of upper-income tax cuts also backed by Republicans.

...The proposal backed by Boehner and top Republicans would extend the expiring tax cuts for all taxpayers, including those making more than $200,000. That would cost about $3.7 trillion over the next decade — $3 trillion for the middle-class and low-income earners, and another $700 billion for wealthier taxpayers.

“Doing what the Democrats want to do with taxes, will save somewhere between $700 billion and $900 billion, which is more fiscally conservative,” said Roberton Williams, a Tax Policy Center senior fellow.

Jack Conway coming to NKY this Thursday

Our next US Senator, Attorney General Jack Conway, will be in Northern Kentucky this Thursday, September 2, at 4:30PM for the grand opening of the Kentucky Democratic Party Coordinated Campaign’s regional office in Erlanger. The event is free and open to everyone.

Who: Attorney General Jack Conway, and concerned Northern Kentuckians like YOU!

What: Grand opening of KDP’s NKY Regional Campaign Office

Where: 467 Erlanger Rd in Erlanger, near the Super Bowl Complex, about 2 blocks from I-75.

When: Thursday, September 2 at 4:30PM

Please make plans to attend yourself, and spread the word to help us build a big crowd.

RSVP’s are appreciated at (859) 360-3492.

If you would like to volunteer for the campaign please contact Field Organizer Wes Wright at wes@kentuckyfirst.org.



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'Jack Conway is the man for the job'

Kentucky law enforcement endorses Jack Conway for US Senate:

Video: Obama interviewed on NBC Nightly News

Editorial comic roundup

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President Obama's weekly address

With the end of combat operations in Iraq days ahead, the President salutes our troops for their service and pledges to fulfill America's commitment to them as veterans.

New website highlights Republican extremism

Today the DSCC issued this press release:

As Joe Miller of Alaska remains poised to be become the sixth extremist candidate to win his party’s nomination for the United States Senate, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee released “Tea Party Set,” a new interactive website highlighting the six Republican tea party candidates and their extreme, dangerous agenda. Tea party candidates Rand Paul of Kentucky, Sharron Angle of Nevada, Ken Buck of Colorado, Marco Rubio of Florida, Joe Miller of Alaska and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin are all far outside the mainstream of their states, and all have put forth agendas which would devastate middle class families across the country.

“The extremist tea party candidates running for Senate want to end Social Security and Medicare – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg,” said DSCC National Press Secretary Deirdre Murphy. “These right-wing insurgents are all dangerously outside the mainstream of their states and their beliefs would wreak havoc on middle class families. They are all more intent on imposing their risky social doctrine than on creating jobs and growing the economy, and it’s why they just aren’t our cup of tea.”

Before clicking over to “Tea Party Set,” learn a little more about the extreme tea party candidates below.

• Rand Paul of Kentucky has spent months walking away from his record and who he really is. A month after saying the Civil Rights Act shouldn’t apply to private business and refusing to say he would have voted in favor of the Civil Rights Act, Paul backtracked on his positions, saying the federal government was right to impose civil rights on private business. Paul committed the same politically expedient move after he defended BP after the oil spill, calling criticism of the company “Un-American.” Under fire for his remarks, Paul went back on his comments, saying government regulations of offshore drilling were not adequate. Paul has also gone into hiding with the media, refusing to conduct interviews and forcing journalists to submit all questions in writing despite “offering detailed answers on just about any topic during his primary campaign.” Paul recently held a fundraiser in Washington DC with the same establishment Republicans he railed against on the campaign trail and has said the drug problem in eastern Kentucky is “not a real pressing issue.”


• Sharron Angle of Nevada won the Republican nomination by appealing to the most fringe elements of her party. Angle would phase-out Social Security and Medicare, would eliminate the Department of Education, and supports bringing nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain and even turning the site into a nuclear processing plant. She has been voted Nevada’s worst legislator—twice. She believes that abortion should be illegal, even in the cases of rape and incest, and thinks that Congress houses “domestic enemies.” She also believes that unemployed Nevadans are spoiled.


• Ken Buck of Colorado is far outside the Colorado mainstream. In addition to proposing repeal of the 17th Amendment, extremist Buck has embraced the radical Tea Party agenda in nearly every way, supporting "birther" legislation, calling for federal student loan programs to be phased out and suggesting the unconstitutionality of Social Security. Buck is also open to returning to the gold standard, eliminating the Departments of Education and Energy, imposing a national sales tax on Coloradans, doesn’t believe in global warming, and opposes the principle of separation between church and state. Buck also faces ethical questions regarding his tenure as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office.


• Marco Rubio of Florida is the ultimate tea party candidate. Rubio has fully subscribed to Congressman Ryan’s plan to privatize Social Security, raise the retirement age, and gut Medicare and Medicaid. Rubio also wants to drill for oil off the coast of Florida and doesn’t believe in climate change.


• Joe Miller of Alaska would like to “transition out” of Social Security, doesn’t think federal unemployment insurance is “constitutionally authorized,” and told the Anchorage Daily News that he would like to “phase-out” Medicare. If extremist Joe Miller had his way, Social Security as we know it would be gone for 75,000 Alaskans, seniors would no longer be able to rely on Medicare, and Alaskans struggling in this still recovering economy would no longer get assistance as they continue to look for jobs.


• Ron Johnson of Wisconsin believes that Social Security is a “Ponzi scheme,” and under his proposal to privatize Social Security, Wisconsin senior citizens would be left to fend for themselves in their golden years. Johnson is open to abolishing the federal reserve, and thinks criticism of British Petroleum is an “assault,” while being open to drilling for oil in Lake Michigan. Recent reports show that Johnson also owns over $100,000 in BP stock. Johnson also is in favor of completely repealing health care reform, which would reopen the Medicare donut hole, bring back denial of coverage based on preexisting conditions, and throw thousands of Wisconsinites off of health insurance.

Governor Beshear's weekly address

This week's commentary celebrates Women's Equality Day and marks the 90th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote.

The obvious bias of Fox News

Today's column from Gene Lyons is great. Here's an excerpt:

They've finally made it official. Although you're not likely to see it reported on Fox News, media mogul Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., parent company of Fox, the Wall Street Journal, New York Post, etc., recently donated a cool $1 million (that's $1,000,000) to the Republican Governors Association. While corporate donations to political parties are common, media conglomerates are normally careful to give to both parties for appearance' sake.

Not Murdoch, however. Any questions?

Conflicts of interest don't come much more obvious. Appearances be damned; Fox News is a partisan propaganda outlet. Actually, as Media Matters columnist Eric Boehlert has recently suggested, the GOP isn't so much running Fox News as Fox News, Rush Limbaugh and a host of other talk-radio ranters are stampeding the party.

Paul as John Wall

There's a must-read editorial in today's Herald-Leader:

Rand Paul has a better spin move than John Wall. The darling of the Tea Party movement has employed it often since winning the Republican Senate nomination in May, pulling 180s on a regular basis in hopes of controlling the damage from some of his more provocative comments.

He was at it again Monday, telling reporters, "It's been recently insinuated somehow that I don't care about the drug problem in Kentucky, and that's absolutely wrong."

...There was no insinuation; there was a statement. And the "somehow" was Paul's own mouth when he recently told The Associated Press he doesn't think drug abuse is "a real pressing issue" in his Senate race against Democratic Attorney General Jack Conway, a statement that raised even some Republican eyebrows.

John Boehner Knows the Ways of Washington

Here's a great new ad from the DNC:

John Boehner's False Attacks

The White House issued this press release today:

Today John Boehner proved once again that his party would only take the country back to the failed policies of the past – policies that cost more than 8 million American jobs – and launched a series of false attacks on the measures that the President is pushing to create jobs, invest in our small businesses and cut taxes for businesses and middle class families.

Boehner belittles the jobs and livelihoods of firefighters, cops and teachers. First, Congressman Boehner attacks the jobs bill the President signed last month that saved hundreds of thousands of jobs of hardworking teachers, cops and firefighters, dismissing these hardworking Americans who teach our kids keep our communities safe as “government jobs.”

• Boehner claim: “Not long after we spoke, he signed a 26 billion dollar ‘stimulus’ spending bill that funnels money to state governments in order to protect government jobs.”


• Fact: The recently enacted legislation will save the jobs of hundreds of thousands of teachers, firefighters and police officers. This includes people like Rachel Martin in Illinois.

Boehner defends the most egregious tax loopholes that gives multinational companies tax credits on taxes they didn’t even pay.

• Boehner claim: “Even worse, the bill is funded by a new tax hike that makes it more expensive to create jobs in the United States and less expensive to create jobs overseas.”


• Fact: The jobs bill is not only fully paid for, but does so by closing a particularly egregious tax loophole, one that gives US corporations an incentive to shift their profits and jobs abroad. It’s a loophole that shifts almost ten billion of American taxpayer dollars to these multinational corporations for credits on taxes they didn’t even pay.

Boehner opposes job-creating tax cuts for small businesses while continuing to support a tax break for wealthiest two percent of Americans.

• Boehner claim: “President Obama has stated he wants to stop some tax hikes, and not others, once again putting the government in the position of picking winners and losers and pitting taxpayer against taxpayer... raising taxes on families and small businesses during a recession is a recipe for disaster – both for our economy and for the deficit.”


• Fact: The expiration of the Bush high income tax cuts would have no effect on more than 97 percent of small businesses. Instead, extending these tax cuts would provide an average tax cut of $100,000 for households making more than $1 million. The CBO found that the tax cut for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans is actually the least effective means of stimulus for the economy. At the same time, Boehner opposes the small business tax cuts currently before Congress that would actually help small businesses grow and create jobs – including eliminating capital gains on key investments in small businesses.

Boehner is playing revisionist history on the deficit, ignoring the fact that it was his party that took a record surplus and turned into a record deficit.

• Boehner claim: "President Obama hasn’t gotten serious about bringing down the deficits that threaten our economy."


• Fact: In the eight years before the Obama Administration took office, the Republican Leadership took the record $237 billion surplus Bill Clinton turned it into a record $1.3 trillion deficit, and nearly doubled the national debt. They gave free rein to the special interests to write their own rules at the expense of everyday people. Their irresponsible economic policies helped to create the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, resulting in 22 months straight of job losses across America.

Boehner alleges that the President isn’t listening to small businesses, while it is the Republicans who continue to obstruct a Small Business Jobs Bill that will cut taxes for small businesses and extend credit to small businesses so they can grow and hire.

• Boehner claim: "Lastly, employers and small business owners are rightly frustrated by the fact that no one in the White House -- not the president, not the vice president, not his economic team -- is listening to them."


• Fact: It is the Republican leadership that continues to block a package of tax cuts and relief for small businesses, the engines of our private sector job growth.


• Fact: Rep. Boehner and 168 other House Republicans voted against passage of a bill to make credit available to small businesses. [HR 5297, House Vote #375, 6/17/10]

Boehner alleges that the stimulus has gotten us “nowhere,” yet praised stimulus projects in his own district.

• Boehner claim: “All This ‘Stimulus’ Spending Has Gotten Us Nowhere.”


• Fact: According to the CEA, as of the second quarter of 2010, the Recovery Act has raised employment by between 2.5 and 3.6 million jobs. This puts us well on track to reach the 3.5 million jobs benchmark by the end of this year. (Council of Economic Advisors, 7/14/10) Furthermore, independent economists have found that without the efforts to save the economy, including the Recovery Act, the nation’s gross domestic product would be about 6.5 percent lower this year and there would be about 8.5 million fewer jobs, on top of the more than 8 million already lost. (New York Times, 7/28/10)


• Fact: Boehner himself praised Recovery Act jobs in his district, saying “I’m pleased that federal officials stepped in to order Ohio to use all of its construction dollars for shovel-ready projects that will create much-needed jobs. (Boehner.House.gov, 6/15/09).

Boehner claims that Republicans reached out to the “employer community” to talk about the economy when in fact they met with leading Washington lobbying groups like the Chamber of Commerce.

• Boehner claim: “Last month, as part of our America Speaking Out project, Republican lawmakers met with leaders of America’s employer community to hear their concerns and talk about ways to end this economic uncertainty.”


• Fact: “As promised, House Minority Leader John Boehner, along with Reps. Aaron Schock (R-IL) and Peter Roskam (R-IL), huddled this morning with representatives of the most powerful conservative business and trade groups in the country to field policy ideas and build a legislative agenda ahead of the November elections, when Republicans could retake the House. If what they discussed in any way resembles the coming GOP platform (and, of course, it does), then get ready for more tax cuts and deregulation… Last week, Republicans were caught with their pants down when news of today's meeting was first reported. Democrats howled and pressed Republicans to let cameras into the room. Republicans agreed. That undoubtedly added to the scripted nature of the event. But the attendees weren't shy about their prescriptions, and the hosts were happy to continue soliciting them. ‘We'll continue to stay in touch with all of you,’ Boehner said.” [Talking Points Memo, 7/16/10]

Boehner claims that Republican Governor Bob McDonnell balanced Virginia’s budget without raising taxes while ignoring the $2.5 billion Virginia received from the Recovery Act to close its budget shortfall from 2010-2012.

• Boehner claim: “Let’s look at what two Republican governors who have been in office only a matter of months have been able to accomplish: In Virginia, Governor Bob McDonnell entered office facing an unprecedented $4.2 billion deficit. His predecessor, the chairman of the Democratic party, proposed closing the shortfall by imposing the largest tax increase in the state’s history. Governor McDonnell refused to balance his state’s budget by making it harder for Virginia families and business owners to balance their own… Both governors forged bipartisan cooperation, set priorities, cut spending, and closed their shortfalls – without raising taxes.”


• Fact: “McDonnell’s ‘prudence’ would be a shining example for the federal government if he hadn’t relied on one important contributor: the federal government. According to a Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis report released this week, last year’s Recovery Act provided $2.5 billion in stimulus relief to ‘maintain crucial services for [Virginia] citizens’ and ‘help close the state’s budget shortfall in 2010-2012.’ Virginia legislators relied on $1.3 billion in enhanced Medicaid funding, $1 billion in funding for K-12 and higher education, $39 million for public safety, and $200 million in general support to reduce ‘what would otherwise have been a $5.4 billion budget hole.’” [ThinkProgress, 8/21/10]

Republicans' Disastrous Economic Priorities

Today the DSCC issued this press release:

The priorities House Republican Leader John Boehner outlined in his "major economic speech" today were predictable: more unpaid for tax cuts for the wealthy, privatization of Social Security and Medicare, and tax breaks for companies outsourcing American jobs.

Boehner's top priority is passing unpaid for tax cuts for the wealthy that will add nearly $700 billion to the deficit. He said that failure to pass debt-financed tax cuts for the wealthy would be a "recipe for disaster." Despite Boehner's tough rhetoric on fiscal responsibility, the Republican agenda is to continue debt-financed tax cuts for the wealthy and tax breaks for companies who ship American jobs overseas.

Boehner also reaffirmed his support for the budget proposal written by the top Republican on the Budget Committee, Representative Paul Ryan. The Boehner-Ryan plan would privatize Social Security and dismantle Medicare, turning the program into a voucher program that forces seniors to buy coverage on their own from private insurance companies.


Fact Check on Republican Leader John Boehner's “Major Economic Speech”

Boehner Spin: "So let me be clear: raising taxes on families and small businesses during a recession is a recipe for disaster – both for our economy and for the deficit."

FACT: Democrats are proposing middle class and small business tax cuts. The Republican Plan for Debt-Financed Tax Breaks for the Wealthy is a Recipe for Disaster for the Deficit. The Republican plan to provide unpaid for tax breaks to the wealthy would add $680 billion to the deficit. According to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, "Extending the high-income tax cuts would increase deficits by even larger amounts in subsequent decades. Thus, if Congress extends these tax cuts, the nation’s fiscal trajectory will be even worse, and the risks to future economic growth consequently will increase." [Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, 4/1/10, 8/3/10]

FACT: Greenspan: Extending Tax Cuts Without Paying for Them Would Be 'Disastrous.' Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Meet the Press that extending the Bush tax cuts without offsetting the costs elsewhere could end up being "disastrous" for the economy. "I'm very much in favor of tax cuts but not with borrowed money and the problem that we have gotten into in recent years is spending programs with borrowed money, tax cuts with borrowed money." [Meet the Press, 8/1/10]

Boehner Spin: "We need to take a long and hard look at the undergrowth of deductions, credits, and special carveouts that our tax code has become."

FACT: Boehner Has Led The Fight to Protect Tax Breaks for Companies Who Ship American Jobs Overseas. Boehner led near unanimous Republican opposition to legislation that paid for protecting the jobs of police, firefighters, and teachers through closing tax loopholes that encourage companies to move American jobs overseas. [HR 1586, #518, 8/10/10]

FACT: Boehner and Republicans Opposed Legislation to End Tax Breaks for Companies Who Ship American Jobs Overseas. In May, Republicans opposed The American Jobs, Closing Tax Loopholes and Preventing Outsourcing Act, legislation that would prevent corporations from using current U.S. foreign tax credit rules to subsidize their foreign activities. [HR 4213, #324, 5/28/10].

FACT: Boehner and Republicans Opposed Small Business Relief Paid For By Closing Outsourcing Tax Breaks. In July, Republicans opposed legislation that would have reduced paperwork and reporting requirements for small businesses and been paid for by ending tax breaks that encourage companies to move American jobs overseas. [HR 5982, #514, 7/30/10; The Hill, 7/30/10]

Boehner Spin: "Republicans on the House Budget Committee, led by Congressman Paul Ryan, have already identified $1.3 trillion in specific spending cuts that could be implemented immediately."

FACT: Boehner-Ryan Plan Would Privatize Social Security and Dismantle Medicare. Under the Republican "Roadmap for America's Future" that Boehner praises, "Medicare is privatized. Seniors get a voucher to buy private insurance, and the voucher's growth is far slower than the expected growth of health-care costs. Medicaid is also privatized… And beyond health care, Social Security gets guaranteed, private accounts that CBO says will actually cost more than the present arrangement" [Washington Post’s Ezra Klein, 2/1/10]

FACT: Boehner-Ryan Plan Cuts Medicare by 76%, Forces Seniors to Buy Coverage From Private Insurance. Under the Republican plan for Medicare, "By 2080, Medicare would be cut 76 percent below its projected size under current policies, according to CBO. In other words, by 2080, the vouchers that would replace Medicare would receive one-quarter of the resources that Medicare would otherwise use." [Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, 7/7/10]

FACT: Boehner Consistently Supports Social Security Privatization and Voted to Dismantle Medicare Into Vouchers. Boehner has been a longtime supporter of privatizing Social Security. He even said in 2006 about privatization, "If I'm around in a leadership role come January, we're going to get serious about it." [Washington Times, 7/31/06; US Federal News, Boehner Answers Community's Questions, 4/29/05; Letter to The Social Security Reform Commission, 5/24/01]

In 2009, Boehner led 137 House Republicans who voted for a plan "that would eventually end the Medicare program as it is presently known," according to the Associated Press. The Republican plan would dismantle Medicare, turning it into a voucher program and forcing seniors to buy insurance on their own from private insurance companies. [Roll Call Vote #191, 4/2/09; Associated Press, 4/2/09]

Boehner Spin: "It's time to put grown-ups in charge. It's time for people willing to accept responsibility. It's time to do what we say we're going to do."

FACT: Under Republican Control, Deficits Skyrocketed and Debt Increased by $3 Trillion. Under the failed economic policies of President George W. Bush and Congressional Republicans, the national debt increased by $3 trillion. [TreasuryDirect Daily History of Debt]

Boehner Spin: "I've said that if I were fortunate enough to be Speaker of the House, I would run the House differently. And I don't just mean differently than the way Democrats are running it now. I mean differently than it’s been run in the past under Democrats OR Republicans…Look at spending. We don’t just need to stop spending so much, we need to stop spending so irrationally."

FACT: Republican Whip Eric Cantor Said Republicans Will Allow Their Earmark Ban to Expire After the Election, Despite Top Budget Committee Republican Saying Earmarks Increase Taxes. According to a report in Politico yesterday, "Cantor also signaled that earmarks may come back, after a one-year hiatus in which House Republicans set a moratorium on all earmark requests." The top Republican on the Budget Committee, Rep. Paul Ryan has criticized earmarks, saying they eventually increase the burden on taxpayers. [Politico, 8/23/10; Paul Ryan Op-Ed, 3/3/09]

Big Choices

Time For Paul To Disclose If Events Happened

Today the DSCC issued this press release:

As Rand Paul continues to duck the press in Kentucky, and avoid answering questions regarding his role in an alleged kidnapping, his accuser has finally come forth to reaffirm her side of the story. According to an exclusive interview with the Washington Post, Rand Paul’s accuser reaffirmed the “general outline” of the night in question and reiterated once again that Paul blindfolded her, tied her up, told her to partake in an illegal drug, and worship the “Aqua Buddha.” The woman goes on to say that Paul “took me out to this creek and made me worship Aqua Buddha.” She added that the whole episode was so “weird” that she ended contact with Paul afterward.

“Does Rand Paul think this woman is a liar?” said Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Communications Director Eric Schultz. “Rand Paul’s accuser confirms she was blindfolded, tied-up, and forced to worship a false God. Instead of running to his lawyers and to the national media, Paul should start answering questions from Kentuckians, who would like to know what really happened during the night in question.”

Paul continues to duck the Kentucky media and refuses to take questions from them regarding the night in question. According to the Lexington Herald-Leader, “reporters shouted questions to Paul late Tuesday afternoon while he was walking into the Lexington home... for a private fund-raiser for his campaign and the state Republican Party, but he did not reply.” Paul also ducked out as quickly as he could following a national interview he did at the local WKYT station in Lexington, telling a local Kentucky reporter that “we don’t have enough time.”

Beshear: NASCAR Sprint Cup race coming to NKY

This press release was issued today by Governor Beshear:

SPARTA, Ky. – Gov. Steve Beshear today announced that a NASCAR Sprint Cup race will be coming to the Kentucky Speedway on July 9, 2011. NASCAR will be moving into its first new market since 2001, and Kentucky will host the premier racing event in the nation.

“I am thrilled that all the hard work of my administration to bring a NASCAR Sprint Cup race to Kentucky has finally paid off,” said Gov. Steve Beshear. “The legislation we proposed and pushed and I signed amending our Tourism Development Act to attract legacy expansion projects to Kentucky was critical in bringing this race to Kentucky. In addition to the excitement this race will bring to race fans, it will have an unparalleled economic impact on the region. Kentucky Speedway – start your engines!”

In 2009, Gov. Beshear proposed legislation amending the Kentucky Tourism Development Act to help attract a Sprint Cup race to Kentucky. The legislation adds a new eligible category of so-called “legacy expansion” projects. Legacy expansion projects must conduct events that are in the top league, series or sanctioned level of their type of event, provide permanent seating for 65,000 spectators and be broadcast nationally. The venue must have previously been approved for incentives and the expansion project must exceed $30 million and present one or more “premier events” not previously held in Kentucky. The Kentucky Speedway was among the first projects approved under the Kentucky Tourism Development Act that provides tax incentives to new or expanding businesses.

“We’re going to create the biggest sports event in the history of the state in 2011, and any fan that comes here will know what it means to be lucky in Kentucky!” said Bruton Smith, Chairman and CEO of Speedway Motorsports, Inc.

“NASCAR has a huge number of racing fans here in Kentucky, so finding out that a Sprint Cup race is coming is like an early Christmas present,” said House Speaker Greg Stumbo. “The Kentucky Speedway has long been one of the state’s crown jewels, and now it is going to get a chance to truly shine. This race, and the economic benefit it will bring, could not come at a better time.”

“The legislatively initiated policy that facilitated this long-awaited Sprint Cup is an example of how targeted incentives in special circumstances can allow entrepreneurs to create jobs and grow our economy,” said Senate President David Williams.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup series is the premier series of NASCAR races, and the number two rated regular season sport on television. It is the number one spectator sport, having more of the top twenty highest attended events in the country than any other sport. The Beshear administration and local officials believe this high level of spectator attendance will have an unprecedented economic impact on the Gallatin County region and beyond. Estimates of the impact to the Kentucky tourism economy range up to $150 million.

“It’s certainly going to mean a lot to Gallatin County and to the region,” said Rep. Royce Adams. “It’ll bring economic development to the whole area because of the increase in attendance.”

Rand Paul Campaign in Total Lockdown Mode

Today the DSCC issued this press release:

Rand Paul’s campaign is in total lockdown mode today, as a GQ story alleging Paul abducted and tried to force a female classmate at Baylor to use illegal drugs against her will has prompted serious questions. While the campaign has tried to smear the reporter and publication, they have yet to either address, or even deny the allegation that Paul physically abducted a young woman, forced her to bow to a false idol and tried to make her take hits of marijuana from a bong against her will. Paul’s campaign said yesterday they "are investigating all our options -- including legal ones." GQ’s Editor-in-Chief has said that he stands by the story. Today’s fundraiser with Mitch McConnell in Lexington presents a golden opportunity for Paul to take questions and explain, in front of McConnell and his supporters, what really happened. Despite Paul’s attacks on GQ, he still hasn’t answered the following basic questions:

• Is the alleged victim lying about Rand Paul tying her up, blindfolding her and abducting her?
• Is the alleged victim lying about Rand Paul trying to force her to use illegal drugs?
• Is the alleged victim lying about Rand Paul forcing her to worship false idols?

“Instead of running to his lawyers, Rand Paul should face the people of Kentucky and give some straight answers,” said Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Communications Director Eric Schultz. “On issue after issue, Rand Paul refuses to be straight with Kentuckians. After shifting on numerous positions and backtracking on previous statements, Rand Paul is now refusing to address serious allegations that he abducted a female classmate and tried to force her to use illegal drugs against her will.”

National pundits have been puzzled by Paul’s failure to respond to these questions.

“The reporter called [the Paul campaign] up, asked them about the story, and they gave him a kind of non-denial denial,” Ken Vogel of Politico said Monday on MSNBC’s Countdown. “They weren’t ready for something they probably should have been ready for.”

“I think they’re going to have to talk about the issue at some point,” Jonathan Martin of Politico said on Hardball. “Paul’s going to be asked about it on the campaign trail in Kentucky.”

Rand Paul has spent the past two months walking away from his record and who he really is. A month after saying the Civil Rights Act shouldn’t apply to private business and refusing to say he would have voted in favor of the Civil Rights Act, Paul backtracked on his positions, saying the federal government was right to impose civil rights on private business. Paul committed the same politically expedient move after he defended BP after the oil spill, calling criticism of the company “Un-American.” Under fire for his remarks, Paul went back on his comments, saying government regulations of offshore drilling were not adequate. Paul has also gone into hiding with the media, refusing to conduct interviews and forcing journalists to submit all questions in writing despite “offering detailed answers on just about any topic during his primary campaign.” Paul recently held a fundraiser in Washington DC with the same establishment Republicans he railed against on the campaign trail.

Editorial comic roundup

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President Obama's weekly address

The President discusses a new Medicare Trustees report showing Medicare to be on much stronger footing as a result of the reforms in the Affordable Care Act.

McConnell's idea of 'bipartisanship'

Via ThinkProgress:

Today, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) sat down with a group of political reporters at a breakfast sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor. Despite leading the most obstructionist minority party in American history, McConnell attacked Democrats and the President for what he perceived as their lack of bipartisanship. The Kentucky senator then called for more bipartisanship, but in the very same breath, said he is not willing to give an inch to the left:

McCONNELL: If you have a big majority, what you want to do is pick off a Republican or two, give it the taint of bipartisanship and do what you want to do. If you’re between 55 and 45, you get genuine bipartisan agreement. And what I hope we’re going to have — and it will be up to the American people — but what I hope we’re going to have is more balance, more balance, which will give us opportunities to do things together, that simply are missing when you have this kind of disparity. But, I’m not going to be very interested in doing things left of center. It’s going to have to be center-right and I think the President is a flexible man and I’ll think he’ll become a born-again moderate.

Sarah Palin: Liar, Liar

Sarah Palin gets fact-checked by the nonpartisan PolitiFact:

Sarah Palin said she wrote her notes on her hand so the "liberals" couldn't say she got her numbers wrong when she appeared on Fox News Sunday. Well, we're independent fact-checkers, and we still found accuracy issues with the former governor's statements on the expiring Bush tax cuts.

...Palin said, "Democrats are poised now to cause this largest tax increase in U.S. history." She was asked about tax cuts for the top 2 percent. Either Palin is confused about the revenue numbers involved with extending the tax cuts, or she's willfully distorting the Democratic plans. We'll let you be the judge of that. Regardless, Wallace was very specific about asking her about tax increases for the top 2 percent. And that does not represent the largest tax increase in history. The unlikely outcome that she seems to be talking about -- that all of the Bush tax cuts will be repealed -- wouldn't be the largest tax increase in history either. Palin read the number on her hand correctly, but that's about all she got right. So we rate her statement Pants on Fire.

John Boehner caught lying

PolitiFact makes a great catch:

On the Aug. 1, 2010, edition of Fox News Sunday, House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, tried to crystallize how bad the current job picture is. "This is the first time since the depression that unemployment has stayed above 9 percent for two consecutive years," Boehner told host Chris Wallace.

We decided to check whether Boehner was right.

...any way you look at it, Boehner's statistic was wrong. We rate his statement False.

McConnell's hypocrisy on campaign disclosure

Today's Herald-Leader included this great editorial:

Given McConnell's 20-year devotion to the Holy Grail of [campaign contribution] disclosure, it may seem puzzling to hear him speak of it now as if it were the handiwork of Lucifer himself. But there's no puzzle to it. McConnell's apostasy on this issue is born of a Supreme Court decision that took his "money as free speech" argument to its ridiculous extreme.

Now that corporations are people, too, in the eyes of the court and free to spend at will on political causes, McConnell doesn't want his buddies in the nation's boardrooms pestered by any disclosure rules.

So, he's leading the filibuster that so far has blocked passage of a proposal to require corporations, unions and most other independent organizations to open up the books on their political spending.

Choices

President Obama's weekly address

President Obama praises the successes of the auto industry restructuring as good news for our economy, and calls on Republican leaders in the Senate to "stop holding America's small businesses hostage to politics" by blocking a vote to help them create jobs.