While yesterday's election provided mostly bad news for Democrats, one ConWeb candidate lost his race.

Accuracy in Media chairman Don Irvine was seeking a seat in the Maryland state senate, promoting himself as "a fiscal conservative who understands that Maryland citizens are overtaxed by a state where spending is already out of control."

That didn't work out so well for him -- Irvine was defeated by a 2-to-1 margin.

Posted by Terry K. at 11:40 AM EDT

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During the runup to the midterm elections, Newsmax allowed Dick Morris to tout his prediction that Republicans could win 100 seats. For instance, Morris wrote in a Sept. 27 column, "Pessimism is the only limit on the potential of Republican gains this year. If we go for 100, we can win 100!" and Newsmax reported on Oct. 27 that Morris said "the GOP can win as many as 100 House seats on Nov. 2."

Then, Newsmax let Morris revise his prediction downward.

An Oct. 29 article by Jim Meyers highlighted how Morris "believes his 'fantasy' of the GOP winning 100 House seats could come true," but waited until the 11th paragraph to give the entire quote: "I’m not predicting 100, I’m predicting 60 to 80. But I fantasize 100, and I think that fantasy may come true."

Newsmax's acquiesence to Morris' downward revisions was completed during the election in a Nov. 2 article:

Looking at early House races, Republicans picked up six of eight contested seats, and political expert Dick Morris says this can be projected to a resounding win in the House races, with the Republicans picking up between 60 and 70 seats.

In the Senate races, Morris says the Republicans will pick up at least six seats, but doubts they will reach the magic number of 51.

With incumbent Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer leading in California, Morris cautions that exit polling does not include the early voting numbers, which he feels will lean Republican.

There's no mention of the 100 seats Morris boasted the Republicans could win.

Posted by Terry K. at 11:27 AM EDT

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WorldNetDaily is marking the day after Republican election victories by promoting its "Case for Impeachment" book:

[Steven] Baldwin, a senior research fellow at the Western Journalism Center, says the issue of impeachment "is no longer a laughing matter."

"With the economy continuing to implode, the coming collapse of the dollar, high unemployment rates, the government takeover of entire industries, the administration's weak and naïve response to the worldwide jihadist threat, and the ongoing frontal assault on our Judeo-Christian heritage, the impeachment option is one that can no longer be ignored," he finds.

Impeachment, after all, is based on "high crimes and misdemeanors," an "old English common law phrase which, in the 1600s, meant negligence, abuse of power, and abuse of trust," says Baldwin.

"Not only has the Obama administration promoted dangerous and unsustainable policies, but it has also engaged in corrupt and illegal activities such as bribery, a crime the Founders specifically cited as an impeachable offense. Moreover, this report details numerous instances of Obama lying to the American people, a pattern which clearly indicates a character defect that in itself endangers America. Given this, we believe impeachment is necessary for the future survival of America," says the author.

But as we've documented, Baldwin's book -- a joint project with WND, which it still won't admit in public -- is filled with lies and misleading claims, making the so-called "case for impeachment" nothing more than a joke.

We've yet to hear from Baldwin, the WJC, or WND responding to our research, which can only be taken as an admission that we are correct.

UPDATE: WND's Bob Unruh has a follow-up article headlined "GOP sweep revives talk of impeachment." WJC president Floyd Brown's pro-impeachment advocacy is noted, but not the fact that Brown's case is discredited.

Posted by Terry K. at 10:33 AM EDT

Updated: Wednesday, November 3, 2010 3:37 PM EDT

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CNSNews.com really, really wants you to know that President Obama spent the final day before the midterm elections talking to "hip hop radio stations" -- so much so it dedicated three entire articles to the subject.

A Nov. 2 article by Fred Lucas, as demonstrated by the headline "Obama Closes Election Season Campaigning on Hip Hop Radio," gets right to the point, even highlighting the names of the DJs Obama would talk to and songs on the station's playlist:

At 11:35 a.m. Eastern time (8:35 a.m. Pacific time), Obama was scheduled to speak live with KPWR in Los Angeles—which bills itself as “Where Hip Hop Lives/Power 106 FM”  Their morning show—5:00 a.m to 10:00 a.m Monday through Saturdays—is called “Big Boy’s Neighborhood” and features DJs Big Boy, Luscious Liz and Jeff G.

At 11:50 a.m., the president is set to tape an interview with WGCI in Chicago, 107.5 FM. Among the songs on WGCI’s playlist this morning were “Sex Room” by Ludacris and Trey Songz. The lyrics to this song include:  “Welcome to my sex room … Hi, welcome to my little sanctuary … Better call your boss and tell him that your daddy’s home ... Take a couple days off and take it off and leave nothing but your T-shirt and your panties on ... Feeling high but I’m hung real low, looking kind of like a tripod … It’s about to get real x-rated, can you handle what I’m about to do…”

Obama will tape an interview with WSOL 101.5 FM in Jacksonville, Fla. at 12:05 p.m. One of the songs on WSOL’s playist this morning is “Do You Think About Me” by 50 Cent.  Its unexpurgated lyrics include: “This relationship, sh— it’s too much for me/ I wanna f--- your friends and live comfortably.”

At 12:20 p.m. Eastern (9:20 a.m Pacific), Obama will appear on KVEG, Hot 97.5 FM, a contemporary music station in Las Vegas. KVEG’s DJs from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m are J Noise and Krazy Kat.

Lucas followed up with an article on one Obama appearance, which also makes sure to include "hip hop radio" in the headline. Lucas goes on to point out in the lead that Obama was "campaigning on hip hop radio station KPWR 106 FM in Los Angeles."

A third CNS article, by Nicolas Ballasy, managed to avoid working "hip hop radio" into the headline, but Ballasy made sure to point out that Obama appeared on "Las Vegas-based hip-hop radio station KVEG" and that the morning show was "hosted by J Noise and Krayzie Kat."

Gee, what message could CNS be sending by these articles? That Obama is a black, black, black man who loves gangsta rap and misogynist hip-hop? It seems so.

After all, we're willing to venture that the number of articles CNS dedicated to this very small story is significantly greater than the number of CNS employees -- nay, the number of Media Research Center employees -- who regularly listen to hip-hop.

Posted by Terry K. at 2:16 AM EDT

Updated: Wednesday, November 3, 2010 2:18 AM EDT

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NewsBusters ran a live stream of Glenn Beck's "Restoring Honor" rally. It, along with the rest of the Media Research Center, is working overtime to dismiss and denigrate the Jon Stewart/Stephen Colbert Rally to Restore Sanity And/Or Fear.

As we previously detailed, the MRC went on a misleading attack over the presence of the former Cat Stevens at the rally. But that wasn't the only attack:

• Matthew Sheffield whined that he "couldn't quite figure out the point" of the rally and took pictures of rally signs he didn't like, claiming that they proved the rally "had its share of hatred."
• Tim Graham complained that the Washington Post portrayed the rally as "not 'liberal,' but merely 'distinct' from conservatism" and that it used "the conservative label twice in the 'sanity' story, but never 'liberal.'"
• NOel Sheppard crowed about how Dick Armey and Cokie Roberts refuted Ariana Huffington's "typical left-wing nonsense about the significance of the previous day's Jon Stewart/Stephen Colbert rally."
• Scott Whitlock groused that "Good Morning America on Sunday skipped the hateful signs at Jon Stewart's rally."
• Kyle Drennen was upset that CBS dared to 'chide conservative figures for divisiveness" without noting "Stewart's own long list of vulgar name-calling incidents."
• At the MRC's Culture and Media Institute, Alana Goodman insisted that "The crowd at the event appeared to be highly political and divisive – and almost exclusively liberal."
• At TimesWatch, Clay Waters was offended that New York Times reporters were "enjoying the rally both in print and through live blogging while hyping the numbers."
• A CNSNews.com article by Dan Joseph insisted that "Much of the crowd at liberal comedian Jon Stewart’s “Rally to Restore Sanity,” held Saturday on the National Mall, expressed criticism of the Tea Party and the Republican Party while praising President Barack Obama and other figures on the political left." Josephfurther complained: "While the rally was billed as being “non-partisan,” signs carried by participants almost exclusively attacked conservative politicians and commentators such as Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin and the Fox News Channel, e.g., 'Keep Fear Alive, Watch Fox News.'"

That's a lot of work to try and shoot down one little rally. Then again, the MRC repeatedly defended Beck's rally and highlighted about how clean the grounds were afterwards. We don't recall anyone at the MRC noting that Stewart made a point of asking rally participants to clean up after themselves.

Posted by Terry K. at 3:04 PM EDT

Updated: Tuesday, November 2, 2010 3:11 PM EDT

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It's election day, so WorldNetDaily has one last change to scare people into supporting its far-right agenda. So today's WND commentary page is littered with such scaremongering:

Though thoroughly trained in Marxist theory and tactics in his early career as a community organizer, Barack Obama abandoned the strategy of gradualism and turned the Long March into a headlong charge. Aided by Reid and Pelosi, he staged a frontal assault, above the radar and in full view, on any remaining vestiges of constitutional constraints. As a result, in an irony so sweet as to suggest divine intervention, the proud community organizer was responsible for the organization of a new and vibrant political community: the tea-party movement. Named for the original Boston Tea Party of 1773, these grass-roots organizations provided a vehicle for political action for mainstream Americans who are not by nature political animals.

-- Tim Daughtry, Nov. 2 column

Barack Obama will hug Hugo Chavez, meet with Ahmadinejad, bow to the king of Saudi Arabia, but he calls freedom-loving Americans "enemies."

[...]

This is not new. Barack Obama's Department of Homeland Security refuses to use the word "terrorist" when referring to Islamic groups that have declared war on us. No, Obama's administration reserves the word "terrorist" for American citizens who oppose his agenda. The Obama "terrorists" include Americans who are pro-life, pro-marriage, pro-Second Amendment, pro-Constitution citizens, including veterans in the line of fire for our freedom. The Department of Homeland Security exists to defend us from our enemies. Instead, Obama has used it to declare us – freedom loving Americans – as the enemy.

-- Janet Porter, Nov. 2 column

In 2008, many tried to warn voters that Obama was not remotely close to what he was portrayed. We tried to warn voters that he would be a disaster and that the damage his administration would wreak would be calamitous to the fabric of our nation. People didn't listen – they bought the lie – they bought the creation. They bought the feel-good fictional account because to buy the truth would have first meant confronting the truth.

People who voted for Obama are like those who have an opportunity to get a real job or make something productive of themselves, but instead choose to languish in a nowhere job and make excuses for never climbing out of the basement of life. People could have made different choices separate from Obama or McCain before it came down to them being the only choices, but they chose not to. Now, the nation will be paying for his agenda for generations to come.

Election Day isn't the candidate's day – it is our day to have our say, and either we treat it as such or we buy into a theatrical production, and stay mired in the same dead-end position we're in.

-- Mychal Massie, Nov. 2 column

Posted by Terry K. at 1:57 PM EDT

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Newsmax's David Patten goes apocalyptic in describing what he thinks will happen to Democrats in today's election, as intimated by the headline "Debacle of Historic Proportions Looms for Democrats":

Tsunami. Earthquake. Hurricane. Even as pundits struggle to find new metaphors to describe the scope of the GOP landslide expected on Tuesday, the latest polls indicate the midterm grass-roots wave could be even more powerful than analysts are predicting.

Respected political gurus Charlie Cook and Stuart Rothenberg said Monday morning that a 60-seat GOP gain in the House is possible, and a six- to eight-seat GOP gain in the Senate is likely.

"If we're wrong, it's higher," Cook told the audience of MSNBC's "Morning Joe."

Like a clarion warning of an impending catastrophe, a new Gallup/USA Today poll released Monday indicates that Democrats could be in for a political bloodletting of historical proportions. 

Patten also quotes "Longtime GOP strategist Roger Stone" offering his opinion (which, needless to say, mirrors that of Patten's). This would be the same guy who we saw marching in the New York gay pride and exchanging licks with a fellow participant.

Stone's outside-the-GOP-lifestyle life surfaced most recently when New York gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino -- whom Stone had been advising to the tune of $1 million -- made some anti-gay remarks.

Patten had previously touted how "Paladino's campaign reportedly received an important boost from GOP political operative Roger Stone," but Newsmax did not report on the Paladino-Stone gay controversy.

Posted by Terry K. at 12:29 PM EDT

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In case you thought there was any doubt that the Media Research Center places partisan attacks over media research, MRC chief Brent Bozell seals it with this Tweet:

Posted by Terry K. at 10:59 AM EDT

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Several comments were implicitly directed at Bill O’Reilly of Fox News for stating on ABC’s “The View” that Muslims had attacked the U.S. on 9/11, when he obviously meant to say that Muslim extremists had done so. To drive his point home, during a fake debate with Stephen Colbert, Stewart introduced former basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as a Muslim (“Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is Muslim.”) who didn’t scare anybody except for other basketball players.

“We’re all on the same team,” Abdul-Jabbar proclaimed.

It was this effort to minimize the Muslim threat that was offensive, coming as it did just hours after explosive packages had been mailed to Jewish synagogues in the U.S. and intercepted before they could injure, kill, and destroy.

In his arrogance and condescension, Stewart cannot fathom that Americans understand that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is not scary. But we also know that Muslims are behind most of the terrorism targeting America, and that Muslim countries are facilitating these attacks. Except for one brief and esoteric comment to the effect that there are things that we have reason to fear in life, Stewart pretended that the threat didn’t exist. He failed to deliver the sanity he promised.

As far as Colbert was concerned—despite the facetious title of his own rally—the fact is that fear is sometimes justified, especially when the nation is under attack from within and without. It is this fear that is driving action in America today, as tens of millions of Americans work to avoid the destruction of the American dream and the American way of life. The only thing Stewart said in their defense was that they were not all racists.

-- Cliff Kincaid, Oct. 31 Accuracy in Media column

Posted by Terry K. at 1:43 AM EDT

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Interesting, isn't it, that not one member of Congress has come forward to call for the impeachment of William Jefferson Clinton for moral turpitude in light of the accusations of Juanita Broaddrick?

So, let the chorus begin here: It's way past time to throw this bum out of office. He's a disgrace to his office. He's a detriment to his country. And he's an embarrassment to the human race.

-- Joseph Farah, Feb. 26, 1999

Pat Buchanan, former communications director to President Ronald Reagan, former presidential candidate and WND commentator, has come to the conclusion that a courageous Republican legislator should move a bill for impeachment of President Bush.

I reluctantly agree – and for the same reasons.

President Bush has had nearly five years in office to honor his oath of office and enforce immigration laws in this country.

He has not only failed, he has intentionally neglected this sworn duty, instead claiming he prefers to promote a vague immigration "reform" plan that involved a "guest worker" program that has served as an encouragement to the most massive influx of illegal immigration this country has ever seen.

-- Joseph Farah, Aug. 31, 2005

Obama must be challenged on every front – even if we don't win every battle. It's time to go on offense, buddy.

We won't get a second chance this time.

Obama should be impeached.

This isn't just about policy disagreements. It's about the biggest and most egregious abuse of power in American history.

If you think I'm exaggerating, tell me how.

It's time to step up to the plate. Americans are not sending Republicans to Congress this year in record numbers because they want a counterbalance to Obama in Washington. They are sending them there to change the direction of the country – radically.

What's wrong with impeachment?

Impeachment is a political process. It's part of the Constitution. It might fail, because there are plenty of wimps among Republican members as well as a fair number of Democrats apparently sworn to overthrowing our constitutional system.

Nevertheless, political battles are won on offense, not defense.

-- Joseph Farah, Nov. 1

Posted by Terry K. at 12:58 AM EDT

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WorldNetDaily isn't the only ConWeb outlet who's eager to give Oregon congressional candidate Art Robinson a pass on his love of racist novels by G.A. Henty.

An Oct. 13 NewsBusters post by Jack Coleman declared that Rachel Maddow's mention of it meant that "Cable television doesn't get any shabbier than this." Coleman highlighted that it was a character in Henty's "By Sheer Pluck" making the racist statement in question, as if that matters. He then writes:

What if Robinson had acquired the rights to the works of Harriet Beecher Stowe? Would Maddow cherry picking the vile opinions of a specific character -- plantation owner Simon Legree -- also render Robinson a racist?

The point, as we noted, is that the racist opinions of the character are not presented as "vile" in the book -- indeed, they are reflections of the 19th century era in which they were written. The character is not a Simon Legree villain; he's the mentor of the young man who is the story's main character and is considered a hero.

The question that needs to be asked is why Robinson promotes a book that presents such a racist as a hero, and an author whose entire ouvere -- which Robinson wants his homeschool students to read -- presumably contains similar outdated imperialistic attitudes as a core component of his curriculum. Robinson has not disclosed how his curriculum addresses the issue of Henty's racism and imperialism.

The only response we can find is Robinson declaring during a debate, "Henty's books are not racist, and I'm not racist." But that's a meaningless answer that doesn't address how his curriculum deals with it.

(P.S. our original post on Robinson is now up at Huffington Post.)

Posted by Terry K. at 3:11 PM EDT

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In an Oct. 31 NewsBusters post, Brad Wilmouth touted how "Sean Hannity informed viewers that Restoring Sanity Rally participant and singer Cat Stevens - who converted to Islam in the 1970s and changed his name to Yusuf Islam - several times declared that Salman Rushdie should be killed after Iranian leader, the Ayatollah Khomeni, issued a fatwa on the British author in 1989 for publishing his book the Satanic Verses."

Similarly, a Nov. 1 MRC TimesWatch post by Clay Waters complained that a New York Times story "failed to mention the 1989 controversy over comments Yusuf made in support of the fatwa from the Ayatollah Khomeini that novelist Salman Rushdie be killed for insulting Muhammad in 'The Satanic Verses.'"

Neither Wilmouth nor Waters mentioned that Stevens/Yusuf has backpedaled on the claim.

According to a Wikipedia page on the incident, Yusuf backpedaled the day after originally making the statement, insisting he was only talking about the punishment Quran advocates for blasphemy. And Yusuf says on his website, "I never called for the death of Salman Rushdie; nor backed the Fatwa issued by the Ayatollah Khomeini – and still don’t," though he says that Rushdie's book "destroyed the harmony between peoples and created an unnecessary international crisis."

Isn't the full story of Yusuf's comments worth reporting? Not at the MRC, where only half the story serves its purpose of inflaming conservatives.

Posted by Terry K. at 2:36 PM EDT

Updated: Monday, November 1, 2010 2:46 PM EDT

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When Andrew Breitbart's websites posted audio they claimed were of reporters at a CBS affiliate in Alaska plotting to smear Alaska Senate candidate Joe Miller, a good portion of the ConWeb was eager to report the claim -- and, in the process, downplay or ignore completely doubts about it.

Tom Blumer jumped on it in an Oct. 31 NewsBusters post declaring that the reporters were intent on "finding (creating?) an incident similar to one involving a Rand Paul campaigner and a MoveOn.org protester in Kentucky 'so we can put out a twitter/facebook alert.'" This was immediately followed by Mark Finkelstein uncritically repeating Sarah Palin's "shocking allegations" regarding the audiotape, adding that "this could shake up the Alaska race--and CBS."

Meanwhile, over at WorldNetDaily, Aaron Klein wrote that "the journalists can be heard plotting to 'find' a 'child molester' among the politician's supporters."

But things are not as clear-cut as NewsBusters and WND portray them. The TV station has stated that "The Miller campaign's analysis of the recording is incorrect in many material ways" and that "The complete conversation was about what others might be able to do to cause disruption within the Miller campaign, not what KTVA could do." Even Fox News has reported that it "cannot verify" what Palin and Breitbart have said about the audio's contents. Politico's Ben Smith added, "The transcript does not, in fact, make it terribly clear what they're talking about."

Despite such significant doubts being raised, NewsBusters has not mentioned them as of this writing, continuing to portray Palin's and Breitbart's skewed interpretation as fact. WND's Klein did note part of the TV station's response, but immediately followed with an attack on it by a blogger -- a response courtesy WND typically does not extend to liberals regarding right-wing claims.

But why would WND and NewsBusters let the facts get in the way? There's an election coming!

UPDATE: Plus, there's Breitbart's shoddy track record of sloppy and dishonest "journalism." WND and NewsBusters didn't mention that, either.

UPDATE 2: A NewsBusters post by Kyle Drennen complained that CBS' "Early Show" didn't mention the story. Like his colleagues, Drennen didn't mention the doubts that have been raised about the audio.

And Accuracy in Media pounced on it as well. Unlike the rest of the ConWeb, Don Irvine does include a significant portion of the TV station's response as an update to his blog post, though he immediately and sneeringly dismisses it.

Posted by Terry K. at 11:16 AM EDT

Updated: Monday, November 1, 2010 2:18 PM EDT

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The U.S. Constitution has no parliamentary provision for a "no confidence" vote, but Obama, Pelosi, and Reid have repeatedly demonstrated their willingness to circumvent America's Constitution.

This ruling imperialist triumvirate prefers the ways of Europe. Americans, therefore, should demand that they follow their preferred European parliamentary standards and resign.

On Tuesday we shall see if voters believe President Obama, whose policy of taxing, borrowing, and spending our way out of today's economic crisis is plunging America deeper and deeper into debt, decline and a potential crash of the dollar, has lost what in Chinese emperors was called the "mandate of heaven."

If Obama and his comrades genuinely wish to restore economic health and prosperity to America, they would resign even if they win on Tuesday.

The stock market would probably surge by 5,000 points within days of a mass resignation by left-liberal Democratic rulers. Foreign investment money would also flood into America.

[...]

Democrats ought to lose in 2010 and 2012, but they also need to be removed from power for at least two generations, as Republicans were from control of Congress from the 1930s to the 1980s.

For their redemption and ours, left-liberal Democrats need to wander for 40 years in the desert until they purge themselves of the pagan pseudo-religious cults of Eurosocialism, Marxism, progressivism and all other collectivisms.

In year 2050 Americans can reconsider whether the Democrats have again become an American political party.

Every American this week should take a vow never to vote for any Democrat until 2050. 

-- Lowell Ponte, Nov. 1 Newsmax column

Posted by Terry K. at 10:27 AM EDT

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WorldNetDaily has already likened President Obama to Nazis, the Antichrist and the Angel of Death. Why not Russian Bolsheviks? From a n Oct. 30 WND column by Alex Markovsky:

To say that Obama is a Bolshevik may sound extreme, but as someone who grew up in the former Soviet Union and holds degrees in economics and political science from the University of Marxism-Leninism, viewing the American political landscape through red communist glasses reveals a scary reality: The United States elected a radical socialist government committed to the transformation of the American capitalist free-enterprise system into an egalitarian society driven by a state-controlled political economy.

[...]

Obama came on the American scene at the right time: The lack of education, historical perspective and political literacy turned the American electorate into what Bolshevik Trotsky called the "voting herd." The combination of impending economic crisis and the weak candidacy on the Republican side created fertile ground for a talented demagogue to seduce the nation.

Obama's agenda reads as if it came straight out of the University of Marxism-Leninism. There is nothing new here but the striking parallels between the Russian Bolsheviks and Obama's government: both utterly convinced in their own uncompromising righteousness and their fanatic belief in economic equality, and both equally obsessed with power and control.

To control the masses, as the Bolsheviks' teaching goes, the leader should instill fear and hope. There is plenty of hope in the "Audacity of Hope" and plenty of fear being peddled in the president's speeches and actions. He has been frightening the country with the threat of such enemies as Wall Street, the undue influence of big corporations, special-interest groups and the so-called extremists of the tea party.

[...]

Obama is clearly following Lenin's script, spending and printing money at unprecedented levels. The plan is simple: Replace American self-reliance with government dependency.  Increasing government spending in ever growing numbers – be it for bailouts, stimulus plans, health care, manure management, tattoo removal, condoms or solar energy – is the program; the area doesn't really matter. The objective is to spend until the country is in such debt as to result in default or hyperinflation, causing the destruction of our currency and the obliteration of wealth. The more the American people are indebted to government, the more they will turn to the government to save them, assuring Democratic one-party rule for the future.

In a sense, Obama is taking a page from the playbook of FDR, who successfully exploited economic difficulties to ensure the Democratic Party's continued domination and to have the voters appoint him president for life.

The vitriolic sleaze never ends at WND, does it?

Posted by Terry K. at 8:59 AM EDT

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