Pres. Obama Treats The Hardworking Staff Like Family

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Campaign Outsider

Under the subject line “My best friend,”Barack Obama sent us this email:

Friend —If you’re lucky enough to get to marry your best friend, you’ll know what I’m talking about.

Michelle amazes me every day, and in the years we’ve been together, nothing inspires me more than watching her be a mom to our two girls.

Each of us has amazing women in our lives who give us strength and encouragement, and no matter what we do on Mother’s Day, it never seems like enough.

This year, I wanted to try something a little different. I know Michelle treasures every single person who is part of this movement we’ve built, so I’m hoping each of you will sign my card to her today. It’ll mean a lot to her.

Will you join me in wishing Michelle a happy Mother’s Day?

http://my.barackobama.com/Mothers-Day

Thanks, and happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there.

Barack
Paid for by Obama for America

Here’s what the link takes you to:

Aren’t the kids supposed to be off-limits?

Memo to the Prez: That’s a two-way street, Friend.

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They Like Me! The Mass. GOP Really Likes Me!

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Campaign Outsider

In the wake of the Massachusetts Democratic Party’s ludicrous call for a Senate Ethics Committee investigation into the Shot Heard ‘Round the . . . State by Sen. Scott Brown (R-It’s Not Girly to Shoot Underhand), the Massachusetts Republican Party friended the Boston media for their widespread catcalls (tip o’ the pixel to Jim Braude):

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING

About MA Democrats’ ‘Pathetic,’ ‘Stupid,’ ‘Ridiculous’ and… ‘Stupiculous’ Stunt

Boston- In case you missed it, the laughable attempt by the Massachusetts Democratic Party yesterday to change the subject from the ongoing controversy engulfing Professor Warren’s flailing and desperate campaign was met with disbelief and outright derision by the Boston media. A sample of the coverage below:

NECN’s JIM BRAUDE: “Speaking of ethics, are the Democrats kidding? The Massachusetts Democratic Party files a complaint with the U.S.  Senate Select Committee on ethics charging that this shot was shot by a taxpayer-funded Senate staffer of Brown’s. Since they believe there was no governmental purpose for the filming, the shot of the shot was forbidden. As your child might say: OMG! And to compound the absurdity, apparently late last week, the state Dems made a point of saying that this nothing but net experience was not Brown’s first shot, but his fifth. Uh-oh – what next, that the senator double dribbled before the shot?”  (Video Here)

Liberal Boston Phoenix Columnist David Bernstein: “…some true foolishness from the Massachusetts Democratic Party.” (David Bernstein, ‘Meanwhile, Insanity In Massachusetts’ Talking Politics blog, 5/9/12)

More from David Bernstein: “… It’s Stupid AND Ridiculous” (Twitter, www.twitter.com/dbernstein, Accessed 5/10/12)

WBZ’s Jon Keller: “It’s Stupiculous” (Twitter, www.twitter.com/kelleratlarge, Accessed 5/10/12)

BU Professor, And WBUR Contributor John Carroll: “Memo To Mass. Democrats: This Is Just Stupid” (Twitter, www.twitter.com/johncarroll_bu, Accessed 5/10/12)

The Gateway Pundit:  “Oh brother. Mass Democrats want to block Senator Scott Brown from using footage of a half-court shot he sunk in front of a group of children. The liberals want it off the air. How pathetic.”

 

Of course, the Mass. GOP has engaged in its own buffoonery. Witness this overcaffeinated  video whacking Elizabeth Warren (D-High Cheek(bones)) for her Hollywood fundraising connection (much worse, of course, than Brown’s Wall Street fundraising connection):

 

Conclusion: There’s plenty of idiocy to go around in the Bray State these days.

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Is The People’s Pledge Actually Working?

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Campaign Outsider

The agreement between incumbent U.S. Sen. Scott Brown (R-Not Native American) and his likely challenger Elizabeth Warren (D-Likely Not Native American) to curb independent political expenditures from their campaigns – a.k.a. the People’s Pledge – has met with skepticism across the political spectrum.

But . . .

 

Witness the new U.S. Chamber of Commerce ad campaign (via Politico’s Morning Score):

U.S. CHAMBER TO RUN ADS IN 17 HOUSE DISTRICTS, 4 SENATE RACES: The Chamber today will launch a multistate TV and grassroots communications blitz in 17 House districts and in four states with Senate races. “Our economy is still fragile, and it is vital that we have leaders in Congress who support free enterprise and the job-creating policies that will lead our recovery,” Thomas J. Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, says in a statement exclusive to Score. “We’re asking constituents to hold their members of Congress accountable for how they vote on the policies that harm economic growth.”

The targeted Senate races: “Hawaii (pro-Linda Lingle), Missouri (anti-Claire McCaskill), Ohio (anti-Sherrod Brown) and Florida (anti-Bill Nelson).”

Representative TV spot:

 

The same kind of spot would be perfect to promote Scott Brown (whose reelection would be a major coup for the GOP), except . . .

There’s that pesky People’s Pledge.

The jury’s out on the Brown-Warren pact. But they’re definitely ordering lunch.

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Let Lord Stanley’s Wild Rumpus Begin! (Hot Goalie Edition)

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Campaign Outsider

For a Stanley Cup playoff team, there’s no greater blessing than a Hot Goalie, and the Washington Capitals have one in spades.

During the Caps’ series with the Boston Bruins, Braden Holtby was compared to the 1971 Ken Dryden, which he’s not. But he’s certifiably the 2012 Braden Holtby.

Exhibit Umpteen:

Last night’s Game 6 Caps victory over the New York Rangers (via the New York Times).

Washington’s Rookie Goalie Has All the Answers

WASHINGTON — Once again the rookie goalie Braden Holtby refused to lose when so much was on the line for the Washington Capitals.

With Washington’s 2-1 victoryWednesday night, Holtby has gone 29 consecutive starts — including 13 in the playoffs — without losing back-to-back games.

“It’s a big one,” Holtby said. “I think we earned it in a way that’s going to benefit us in the long run. We played a very solid team game. Very gutsy effort and we got rewarded tonight.”

Question: Will Holtby have all the answers in Saturday’s Game 7 at Madison Square Garden?

The hardwatching staff can’t wait to see.

P.S. Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist has been excellent throughout the series. Just not as excellent as Holtby.

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Barack Obama Sent The Hardworking Staff A Note About Gay Marriage

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Campaign Outsider

This is one hardworking Prez!

First, thanks to Joe Biden’s premature ejaculation, Barack Obama pretzeled on his gay-marriage stance in this ABC News interview:

 

(See BuzzFeed’s helpful Obama gay marriage timeline here.)

Then, Pres. Obama also made time to send the hardworking staff this note:

Friend —

Today, I was asked a direct question and gave a direct answer:

I believe that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry.

I hope you’ll take a moment to watch the conversation, consider it, and weigh in yourself on behalf of marriage equality:

http://my.barackobama.com/Marriage

I’ve always believed that gay and lesbian Americans should be treated fairly and equally. I was reluctant to use the term marriage because of the very powerful traditions it evokes. And I thought civil union laws that conferred legal rights upon gay and lesbian couples were a solution.

But over the course of several years I’ve talked to friends and family about this. I’ve thought about members of my staff in long-term, committed, same-sex relationships who are raising kids together. Through our efforts to end the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, I’ve gotten to know some of the gay and lesbian troops who are serving our country with honor and distinction.

What I’ve come to realize is that for loving, same-sex couples, the denial of marriage equality means that, in their eyes and the eyes of their children, they are still considered less than full citizens.

Even at my own dinner table, when I look at Sasha and Malia, who have friends whose parents are same-sex couples, I know it wouldn’t dawn on them that their friends’ parents should be treated differently.

So I decided it was time to affirm my personal belief that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry.

I respect the beliefs of others, and the right of religious institutions to act in accordance with their own doctrines. But I believe that in the eyes of the law, all Americans should be treated equally. And where states enact same-sex marriage, no federal act should invalidate them.

If you agree, you can stand up with me here.

Thank you,

Barack

So, to recap:

Obama made a political calculation to support gay marriage.

Therefore the hardworking staff should make a political donation?

We don’t think so.

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Memo To Mass. Democrats: This Is Just Stupid

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Campaign Outsider

From our Concept with a Capital K desk:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 9, 2012

Contact: Kevin Franck
617.939.0807

Massachusetts Democrats File Ethics Complaint against Scott Brown

Brown campaign video was shot by taxpayer-funded staffer working at an official event
BOSTON – Today, the Massachusetts Democratic Party filed a complaint with the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics calling for an investigation into Republican Senator Scott Brown’s use of official, taxpayer-funded resources for campaign purposes.

On April 28, 2012, Scott Brown’s campaign circulated an online video of the junior senator’s successful fifth attempt at making a half-court shot at the Hyannis Youth and Community Center during an official event.  The video, which was made available on the Brown Campaign’s website and YouTube channel, was filmed by a taxpayer-funded Senate staffer at an event the Senator attended in his official capacity, according to a report in the Boston Globe.

Brown’s taxpayer funded staffer shot the video “as she worked on federal time, staffing the senator at an event he was attending in his governmental capacity,” the Globe wrote. “And she was in Massachusetts after flying to and from Washington on a ticket paid for by the government.”

“Neither Senator Brown nor the campaign has ever claimed (nor could it be claimed) that the video was recorded for any governmental purpose,” Walsh wrote in a letter to the committee’s Chair and Vice Chair.

United States Code and the Senate Ethics Manual forbid official Senate staffers from engaging in campaign activity while simultaneously performing official duties for which they receive compensation from the United States government. Although Senate employees are free to engage in political activity, it must be on their own time – and not when they are staffing a Senator at an office event.

“By permitting his official staff to engage in campaign related activity while serving in their official capacity, Senator Brown has failed in his responsibility to ensure that the interests of his campaign do not conflict with or detract from official staff duties and acted in violation of federal law,” Walsh wrote.

The full text of the complaint is below.

Actually, it’s not. I decided to spare you the LP-version idiocy on display here.

No wonder people don’t take politics seriously.

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Good Bucks Hunting: Damon, Affleck To Host Warren Fundraiser

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Campaign Outsider

Boston movie broducers Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are reuniting to host a fundraiser for likely Democratic Senate nominee Elizabeth Warren.

From BuzzFeed:

Right – don’t forget Boston homeboy John Krasinski of The Office fame.

Think Scott Brown (R-I Don’t Need No Stinking Hollywood Badgers) can’t make this work to his advantage?

Think again.

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The Commencement Address You’ll Never Hear

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Campaign Outsider

Wall Street Journal columnist Bret Stephens has a tough-love message for this year’s graduating college seniors.

From his Tuesday piece:

Dear Class of 2012:

Allow me to be the first one not to congratulate you. Through exertions that—let’s be honest—were probably less than heroic, most of you have spent the last few years getting inflated grades in useless subjects in order to obtain a debased degree. Now you’re entering a lousy economy, courtesy of the very president whom you, as freshmen, voted for with such enthusiasm. Please spare us the self-pity about how tough it is to look for a job while living with your parents. They’re the ones who spent a fortune on your education only to get you back— return-to-sender, forwarding address unknown.

Stephens proceeds to school the grads on what he says are the real facts of life:

• Fact One is that, in our “knowledge-based” economy, knowledge counts. Yet here you are, probably the least knowledgeable graduating class in history.

• Fact Two: Your competition is global. Shape up. Don’t end your days like a man I met a few weeks ago in Florida, complaining that Richard Nixon had caused his New York City business to fail by opening up China.

• Fact Three: Your prospective employers can smell BS from miles away. And most of you don’t even know how badly you stink.

•  Fact Four: There will always be a market for people who can [think for themselves].

Harsh, yes.

Justified? You tell us.

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It’s Good To LIve In A Two-Daily Town (iPad Murder Edition)

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Campaign Outsider

The locals hit the daily double today with their coverage of the grisly murder of a Burlington mother.

Headline honors go to the Boston Herald:

 The feisty tabloid doubles down in its main news story:

Experts foresee Web of horror

The shocking news that a Burlington mother’s stabbing death was watched by a stunned teen over a live iPad video chat opens new possibilities and difficult questions about Web evidence in a heavily plugged-in world, lawyers say.

“Welcome to the worst aspect of the 21st century: cyber horror and its progeny. This is just one more step in a horrible direction,” said defense attorney Jeffrey Denner.

Prosecutors dropped the bombshell yesterday at Christopher Piantedosi’s arraignment in Woburn District Court, saying a young friend of his 15-year-old daughter watched in horror — in real time over an iPad — as Piantedosi slashed longtime girlfriend Kristen Pulisciano to death Thursday, while waiting for the teen to return to her bedroom to continue their online chat.

For its part, the Boston Globe story has more depth, including details such as these:

By midafternoon on Friday, as investigators gathered what they called a“significant’’ amount of evidence from the house, including both weapons allegedly used, Piantedosi drove into the parking lot of the State Police Weston barracks, remaining in his car for a while before troopers recognized him.

Police searched the car. Visible on the dashboard were two handwritten notes, one reading “unarmed, just have to sleep,’’ and the other contained an apparent account, in the defendant’s own words, of how the attack unfolded, they said . . .

Last year, Piantedosi reportedly stole a New Hampshire woman’s wallet, GPS device, and $90 in cash, but later returned the items with a lengthy letter of apology to the victim.

His letter was signed, “Stupid,’’ according to the Manchester Union Leader.

But as usual, the Herald has more color (commentary), via Jessica Heslam:

Family’s plea: Save daughter from more trauma, admit guilt

The Burlington teen who witnessed her mother’s ruthless slaying “desperately” misses her mom, and her loved ones hope the accused killer — her own father — will cop to the crime so she never has to testify.

“I hope he pleads guilty because I would hate to see (her daughter) have to end up on the witness stand. That would be horrible,” family relative Lovell Pulisciano told the Herald yesterday. “That would be more traumatic for her. She’s going through enough. She doesn’t need that, too.”

Most towns are lucky if they have one decent daily. We have two. You should read – make that, buy – both.

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Let Lord Stanley’s Wild Rumpus Begin! (Rangers’ Lazarus Edition)

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Campaign Outsider

Just 6.6 seconds from going down to the Washington Capitals three games to two in their Eastern Conference semifinals series, the New York Rangers rose from the dead to force an overtime period, thanks to an ill-timed high-sticking penalty on Joel Ward, who went from hero to goat in two weeks.

From the New York Times:

Madison Square Garden was a morose, deflated place as the seconds ticked down in Game 5 on Monday night. The Rangers were losing to the Washington Capitals and hurtling toward a 3-2 series deficit.

Henrik Lundqvist had left his goal for a sixth attacker and was standing by the Rangers’ bench, glancing at the clock. There were 10 seconds left.

“I looked up and thought, ‘This is going to be tough,’ ” he said.

Moments later, the Garden exploded in joy.

With 6.6 seconds remaining, Brad Richards tied the score, 2-2, with a desperation goal, sending the game into overtime. The teams had barely caught their breath after an intermission when defenseman Marc Staal blasted a slap shot past two diving Capitals and goaltender Braden Holtby 1 minute 35 seconds into the extra session for a 3-2 victory that completed one of the most fantastic finishes in Rangers history.

Both goals came on the same power play, after Joel Ward was banished with a double minor for high-sticking Carl Hagelin with 22 seconds left in regulation.

Highlight reel:

 

The Stanley Cup playoffs at their best. That the Rangers won is just a bonus.

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