Jim DeMint To Mitt Romney On Poor People: "Backtrack Mitt!"

DeMint Calls on Romney to Reframe Comments on Poor

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) said today that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney needs to “backtrack” and reframe comments in which the former Massachusetts governor said he was worried about the middle class and “not concerned about the very poor.”

DeMint defended Romney against any suggestion that he doesn’t care about the poor and lauded the former governor’s focus on the middle class.

But the Senator indicated that Romney’s comments, made during a CNN interview this morning, were problematic because Democrats might easily use them against him.

Romney, explaining his position, said the poor have access to government “safety net” programs that aren’t available to the middle class.

DeMint said that portion of Romney’s comments also need to be reframed.

While Democrats have been using Romney’s comments to argue he is callous toward the poor, conservatives have expressed concern that the former governor might be OK with having Americans who are dependent on government-subsidized social programs.

“He needs to address it,” DeMint told Roll Call.

“Because I know he does care about the poor. But I think he was trying to make a case that they’re taken care of. But, in fact, I would say I’m worried about the poor because many are trapped in dependency, they need a good job; they don’t need to be on social welfare programs.

I think he needs to turn that around because — the middle class is key, and we have to focus on that. And, really, the problem with the middle class is not successful people, it’s politicians — but the key to making our country successful it to get everyone on that economic ladder.

“I think all of this is a teachable moment for America,” DeMint continued.

“I think Bain Capital was, and I think he finally turned that around and showed some confidence in his success, and we need to do that here.

We do worry about the poor when they’re trapped in government dependency programs and the education system’s not producing the skills [and] character for them to succeed, and I think it is an important thing for him to backtrack on that.

I don’t think anyone thinks he doesn’t care about the poor, but I think he’s trying to say they’re taken care of right now with these programs. Those are the programs that are hurting, not just the poor, but our country. We need to address it at every level.”

Romney told CNN today, “I’m in this race because I care about Americans. I’m not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it needs repair, I’ll fix it. I’m not concerned about the very rich, they’re doing just fine.

I’m concerned about the very heart of the America, the 90, 95 percent of Americans who right now are struggling, and I’ll continue to take that message across the nation.”

DeMint has not endorsed a candidate in the 2012 GOP presidential primary, but he did back Romney in 2008.


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Sources: CNN, Robocall, Google Maps

McChrystal Set To Resign, Afghan War In Trouble

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General McChrystal Ready To Resign, Sources Say



Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the commander of the U.S. war in Afghanistan, is prepared to offer his resignation over disparaging comments made by him and his aides about Obama administration officials, NBC News has learned.

President Barack Obama said Tuesday that McChrystal displayed "poor judgment" and summoned him to the White House on Wednesday to hear from him first-hand and consider whether to fire him.

If not insubordination, the remarks in a forthcoming Rolling Stone magazine article were at least an indirect challenge to civilian management of the war in Washington by its top military commander.

"I think it's clear that the article in which he and his team appeared showed a poor — showed poor judgment," the president said Tuesday, surrounded by members of his Cabinet at the close of their meeting. "But I also want to make sure that I talk to him directly before I make any final decisions."

According to two senior administration aides, McChrystal informed his superiors that he is prepared to offer his resignation but had not done so, NBC News reported.

‘Significant mistake’

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said McChrystal had "made a significant mistake" in participating in the Rolling Stone profile in which aides called one top Obama official a "clown" and another a "wounded animal" and the general himself made disparaging remarks about officials.

McChrystal was quoted saying he was "betrayed" by Ambassador Karl Eikenberry, his diplomatic partner in Afghanistan. He accused Eikenberry of raising doubts about the reliability of Afghan President Hamid Karzai only to give himself cover in case the U.S. effort failed.

McChrystal publicly apologized Tuesday for using "poor judgment" in interviews for the magazine. He then left Afghanistan to fly to Washington for Wednesday's meeting with the commander in chief.

Presidential spokesman Robert Gibbs said Obama acknowledged McChrystal's apology and believed he deserved a chance to explain himself. A decision on McChrystal's future will be announced by the White House after Wednesday's meeting, Gibbs said.

Wisconsin Democrat Rep. David Obey, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, called for McChrystal to resign. Sen. John McCain, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee that approved McChrystal for the job, was among three prominent Republican senators to criticize the general and say a decision about his future should rest with Obama.

McChrystal to lead the Afghan war in May 2009. Despite a continuing troop buildup, progress has been halting, with U.S. casualties rising, public support waning and tensions growing between Washington and Kabul.

The first victim in the controversy was the Pentagon's PR official who set up the interview with McChrystal. NBC reported that Duncan Boothby, a civilian member of the general's public relations team, was "asked to resign."

Sen. John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he had confidence in McChrystal's ability as a general. However, he said the issue was whether the article would impact his ability to have a relationship with Obama and the rest of the national security staff.

Kerry, speaking on MSNBC's "Daily Rundown," declined to say whether McChrystal should step down.

McChrystal, for his part, on Tuesday issued a statement saying: "I have enormous respect and admiration for President Obama and his national security team, and for the civilian leaders and troops fighting this war and I remain committed to ensuring its successful outcome."

"I extend my sincerest apology for this profile," the statement said. "It was a mistake reflecting poor judgment and should never have happened."

McChrystal spent Tuesday calling those mentioned in the article to apologize, officials said. Among those was Holbrooke. It was not clear whether the general had spoken directly to Obama.

Holbrooke's office said in a terse two-line statement that McCrystal had called him in Kabul "to apologize for this story and accept full responsibility for it." It said Holbrooke "values his close and productive relationship with General McChrystal."

Lone wolf?

The Rolling Stone article depicts McChrystal as a lone wolf on the outs with many important figures in the Obama administration and unable to persuade even some of his own soldiers that his strategy can win the war.

The interview describes McChrystal, 55, as "disappointed" in his first Oval Office meeting with Obama. The article says that although McChrystal voted for Obama, the two failed to connect from the start. Obama appointed McChrystal to lead the Afghan effort in May 2009. Last fall, though, Obama called McChrystal on the carpet for speaking too bluntly about his desire for more troops.

"I found that time painful," McChrystal said in the article. "I was selling an unsellable position."

The Rolling Stone Mag. article also reported:

One anonymous aide said McChrystal seized control of the war "by never taking his eye off the real enemy: The wimps in the White House."

One aide called White House National Security Adviser Jim Jones, a retired four star general, a "clown" who was "stuck in 1985."

On Holbrooke, an aide is quoted saying: "The Boss says he's like a wounded animal. Holbrooke keeps hearing rumors that he's going to be fired, so that makes him dangerous." McChrystal is also described as exasperated on receiving an e-mail from Holbrooke. "Oh, not another e-mail from Holbrooke. I don’t even want to open it."

Obama agreed to dispatch an additional 30,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan only after months of study that many in the military found frustrating. And the White House's troop commitment was coupled with a pledge to begin bringing them home in July 2011, in what counterinsurgency strategists advising McChrystal regarded as an arbitrary deadline.

McChrystal's team disapproves of the Obama administration, with the exception of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who backed McCrystal's request for additional troops in Afghanistan.

A member of McChrystal's team making jokes about Vice President Joe Biden, who was seen as critical of the general's efforts to escalate the conflict and who had favored a more limited counter-terrorism approach. "Biden?" the aide was quoted as saying. "Did you say: Bite me?" Biden initially opposed McChrystal's proposal for additional forces last year. He favored a narrower focus on hunting terrorists.

The profile, titled "The Runaway General," emerged from several weeks of interviews and travel with McChrystal's tight circle of aides this spring.

In the interview, McChrystal said he felt betrayed Ambassador Eikenberry. If Eikenberry had the same doubts, McChrystal said he never expressed them until a leaked internal document threw a wild card into the debate over whether to add more troops last November. In the document, Eikenberry said Karzai was not a reliable partner for the counterinsurgency strategy McChrystal was trying to execute.

McChrystal accused the ambassador of giving himself cover.

"Here's one that covers his flank for the history books," McChrystal told the magazine. "Now, if we fail, they can say 'I told you so.'"

McChrystal has a history of drawing criticism, despite his military achievements.

In June 2006, then President George W. Bush congratulated McChrystal for his role in the operation that killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq. As head of the special operations command, McChrystal's forces included the Army's clandestine counterterrorism unit, Delta Force.

He drew criticism for his role in the military's handling of the friendly fire shooting of Army Ranger Pat Tillman — a former NFL star — in Afghanistan. An investigation at the time found that McChrystal was "accountable for the inaccurate and misleading assertions" contained in papers recommending that Tillman get a Silver Star award.

McChrystal acknowledged he had suspected several days before approving the Silver Star citation that Tillman might have died by fratricide, rather than enemy fire. He sent a memo to military leaders warning them of that, even as they were approving Tillman's Silver Star. Still, he told investigators he believed Tillman deserved the award.

Last October, McChrystal tangled publicly with Biden over Afghan war strategy, dismissing Biden's idea of a narrow counterterrorism approach as "short-sighted." Obama, in Denmark at the time, called him in for what sources said was a dressing down aboard Air Force One.

Several names circulated among Pentagon and Capitol Hill aides as potential successors. They include Gen. James Mattis, Joint Forces Command chief; Lt. Gen. John Allen, the No. 2 at U.S. Central Command; Lt. Gen. David Rodriguez, McChrystal's No. 2 in Afghanistan; Gen. Martin Dempsey, commander of the Army Training and Doctrine Command; and Adm. James Stavridis, the top NATO commander in Europe.


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Sources: CNN, MSNBC, Rolling Stone, Google Maps

Young Republicans Official Reveals G.O.P.'s Racist Agenda..."Pres. Obama's Waterloo"

The Daily Beast, Gawker, The Atlantic, MSNBC, Politico, Huffington Post----



(President Barack Obama slams Rep. Congressman Jim DeMint's "Waterloo" remarks.)





(Nov. 15, 2006: Mississippi Sen. Trent Lott, ousted from the top Senate Republican leadership job four years ago because of remarks considered racially insensitive, won election to the chamber's No. 2 GOP post Wednesday. NBC's Chip Reid reports.)

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New G.O.P. Racist Headache


After "Barack the Magic Negro" and other GOP racial gaffes, a top Young Republican official—who was elected chairman Saturday—laughs at a racial slur about President Obama. The Daily Beast's John Avlon on a choice facing GOP brass: Lose the radical fringe, or never email, use social media or send out holiday CDs again.

Note to Republicans: Racist “humor,” the Internet, and political ambitions don’t mix. Audra Shay, vice chairman of the Young Republicans and the leading candidate to be elected its chairman on Saturday, is now the latest in a growing list of GOP officials learning this lesson the hard way, based on pictures of a now-deleted Facebook page obtained by The Daily Beast.


(Click here to view the Audray Fay Facebook comments.)

“This is still America… freedom of speech and thought is still allowed… for now any ways… and the last time i checked I was a good ole southern boy… and if yur ass is black don’t let the sun set on it in a southern town…”

On Wednesday, Shay—a 38-year-old Army veteran, mother, and event planner from Louisiana who has been endorsed by her governor, Bobby Jindal—was holding court on her Facebook page, initiating a political conversation by posting that “WalMart just signed a death warrant” by “endorsing Obama’s healthcare plan.” At 1:52, a friend named listed as Eric S. Piker, but whose personal page says his actual name is Eric Pike, wrote “It’s the government making us commies… can’t even smoke in my damn car… whats next they going to issue toilet paper once a month… tell us how to wipe our asses…”

Two minutes later, Piker posted again saying “Obama Bin Lauden [sic] is the new terrorist… Muslim is on there side [sic]… need to take this country back from all of these mad coons… and illegals.”

Eight minutes after that, at 2:02, Shay weighed in on Piker’s comments: “You tell em Eric! lol.”

Shay now claims that she was only responding to Piker’s first comments, not having noticed the second. The eight-minute gap between the second post and her response strains the credibility of this defense.

It didn’t take long for other posters on Shay’s page to do the math. First, Derek Moss wrote “What’s disheartening is the use of the word 'coon' in 2009. Wow… I’m usually outnumbered about 500-to-1 on Audra’s threads so go ahead, lemme have it, I deserve it.” He apparently expected to be criticized as among this crowd for calling out the racist comment.

Cassie Wallender, a national committeewoman from the Washington Young Republican Federation, then wrote: “Someone please help a naïve Seattle girl out, is Eric’s comment a racial slur?” She answered her own question one minute later: “Okay, why is this okay? I just looked it up. ‘It comes from a term baracoons (a cage) where they used to place Africans who were waiting to be sent to America to be slaves.’ THIS IS NOT OKAY. And it's not funny.”

This was followed soon after by the chairman of the D.C. Young Republicans, Sean L. Conner, who wrote “I’m really saddened that you would support this type of racial language. ..wow! Thanks Cassie for standing up…”

Shay was silent on this exchange, but soon word started spreading throughout the Young Republican circuit, open to GOP members under 40. Significantly, Shay then “de-friended” Wallender and Conner—in the world of Facebook, that means cutting off relations—after calling her out, but kept Piker as a “friend” (subsequently, it appears their profiles are no longer linked).

“If Audra really did find these remarks to be 'outright disgusting,' then why was her response to immediately de-friend those who made statements against Eric's blatant racism?” Wallender wrote yesterday in a letter to the Young Republican National Committee. “I was blocked for stating that Eric's racist comment was "NOT OKAY. And it is not funny." Please take a moment look at the entire screenshot linked above, and ask yourself: which comment would lead you to de-friend someone, mine, or Eric's?”

In the face of the “coons” comment, Shay’s main concern seems to have been damage control. She deleted the controversial exchanges from her page (but not before screenshots were taken) and tried to tamp down the fire internally. Almost eight hours after Piker’s comments, and Shay’s ensuing “LOL”, Shay posted a Facebook status update stating that neither she—nor her Young Republican political slate—“condones the use of racial slurs on my wall…. It is not right to nor appropriate to talk that way and will not be accepted!”

At 10:31 p.m., a friend named Dale Lawson raised the P.C. defense, writing “the over reaction to it was a little amusing.” Then her friend Piker came roaring back: “I agree with dale… this is still America… freedom of speech and thought is still allowed… for now any ways… and the last time i checked I was a good ole southern boy… and if yur ass is black don’t let the sun set on it in a southern town…”

On Thursday morning, the leading black conservative site HipHopRepublican.com posted a story on the exchange. One of the site’s founders, Lenny McAllister, author of the upcoming Diary of a Mad Black PYC (Proud Young Conservative), quickly released a statement of condemnation, which provoked a flurry of emails from Shay supporters and ultimately Shay herself. “Throughout most of my interaction with Audra and some of her supporters over this issue, there was a strong defense of her actions,” McAllister told me. “Audra and I eventually got to a place where she apologized to me personally about the whole incident, but others have wondered if her public statement was an apology or merely political posturing.”

More than 36 hours after the comments were first posted, Shay released a statement condemning their “disgusting” content, which she said she was “not aware of” when she posted her response. She then spends the second half of her statement pointing a finger at the real culprits for the “web of misconception and untruths”: her political opponents at the Young Republicans. “It is a disgrace that these types of political attacks are taking place and once again, it proves that my opponents will stoop to the lowest levels to steal this election from the jaws of victory.” Shay did not respond to emails sent to her personal account requesting comment.

Taken by themselves, the exchanges on Shay’s page might be dismissed as an isolated ugly incident. But there’s a pattern emerging from the fringe of the GOP grassroots. Three weeks ago, former South Carolina State Election Director and Richland County GOP Chairman Rusty DePass “joked” on his Facebook page that first lady Michelle Obama was descended from a gorilla which had gone missing from a local zoo. Days later, Tennessee state legislative aide Sherri Goforth emailed out an image labeled “Historical Keepsake”—showing august portraits of all the presidents of the United States, ending with a pair of googly-eyes peering out from a black background to symbolize President Obama. When confronted, the aide to State Senator Diane Black said only that she regretted sending the image to the wrong email list and from her government address. She was “reprimanded” by her supervisors but not otherwise punished (a forced furlough at Memphis’s National Civil Rights Museum would have been an inspired penalty). And of course, all this has taken place after Chip Saltzman’s bid to be RNC Chairman was derailed by his decision to mail out a parody CD featuring the song “Barack the Magic Negro.”

“It seems like some of us Republicans are taking our conservative message, mixing it with personal prejudices and racist views, and calling it patriotism,” says McAllister. “You can cover cyanide with chocolate, but you still can't call it candy.”

This pattern of racial remarks from grassroots Republican politicos highlights a real problem: As the party tacks right, it seems increasingly reluctant to challenge folks on its fringe for fear of offending the base—even, in this case, by failing to immediately rebuke racist supporters on a Facebook page. Let’s say that Shay’s “LOL” response was the online equivalent of nervous laughter, the kind of passive response to racist jokes that may have once been considered acceptable in pool halls and country clubs of the past. In the Internet era, it offers indelible evidence of acquiescing to something evil in our politics. There is a fear-based paralysis, a lack of moral clarity, which is in direct contradiction to their historic role as the Party of Lincoln.

This story is still unfolding. The election for chairman of the Young Republicans will be held this weekend at their national conference in Indianapolis and a new urgency is now infusing the vote. “I saw something that was morally wrong, and as a conservative I took it upon myself as an individual to stand up, and I do not regret it at all,” Wallender wrote in her letter to the committee. “I was attacked for wanting better for Young Republicans—in my lifetime of work for the Republican Party I have never been accused of being a "RINO," until now, by Audra's supporters.”

It will be interesting to hear what Governor Jindal and other influential supporters of Audra Shay’s candidacy will say about this incident. In a response to my request for a comment from RNC Chairman Michael Steele, his communications director Trevor Francis stated simply but firmly, “This type of language is inappropriate, and is not representative of the views of the Young Republicans.”

With their party at a crossroads in the wilderness, Young Republicans have an opportunity to send a message and set a direction this weekend. Will they embrace the ideals of the Party of Lincoln, and the “Battle Hymn of the Republic?” Or turn toward the self-segregating notes of “Barack the Magic Negro?”


Sources: The Daily Beast, Gawker, The Atlantic, Politico, MSNBC, Huffington Post