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Political Circus: McCain vs. Seacrest

Posted on November 5, 2010 by admin| Comments Off

Washington (CNN) — Politics is serious business — but not all of the time. From the halls of Congress to the campaign trail, there’s always something that gets a laugh. Here are some of the things you might have missed.

Fightin’ words

Radio host/jack-of-all-trades Ryan Seacrest lashed out on his website at Meghan McCain after she criticized President Obama’s decision to appear on Seacrest’s show before Tuesday’s election.

Seacrest fought back on his nationally syndicated radio show. “She thinks ["On Air with Ryan Seacrest"] is just lowbrow,” he said. “I just want to be clear — it is the lowbrow show she wanted to be on twice to come promote her stuff.”

As he says on “American Idol” — Seacrest out.

Like a scene from ‘Gone with the Wind’

From Friday’s White House pool report from political website The Daily Caller: “At 9:48 POTUS and FLOTUS exited the south Portico and boarded Marine One. POTUS wore no coat over his suit, but FLOTUS wore a fashionable tan or light brown coat. POTUS put his hand on FLOTUS’ back as they walked and looked over at her, appearing to say something. And with that, the first couple was off for southeast Asia.” (The abbreviations stand for “president of the United States” and “first lady of the United States.”)

Watch where you put that hatchet

Former Delaware Senate rivals Chris Coons and Christine O’Donnell took part Thursday in a time-honored tradition in the state by burying the hatchet — literally, The Delaware News Journal reports.

Time to make the coffee

The New York Daily News reports on former President George W. Bush’s daily ritual since leaving the White House, saying his “internal alarm clock” makes him wake up before 5 a.m. And he’s taken on a more domestic role by making coffee for his wife, Laura. When outside, it’s all adventure: “He hits dirt-bike trails around Dallas regularly.”

First chef of New York?

New York governor-elect Andrew Cuomo’s girlfriend — cooking sensation Sandra Lee — won’t be taking on the title of first lady or any official duties, the Daily News reports. Cuomo’s staff says Lee “would never expect any taxpayer dollar to support the contributions she makes nor would she want to burden the state in any way.”

Notable quotable

“Tuesday night, voters completely rejected the efforts of a charismatic African-American. … Rick Fox is off ‘Dancing with the Stars.’” — NBC’s Jay Leno

The picture you need to see

From Getty Images: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton receives a Hongi (Maori greeting) during a welcome ceremony at New Zealand’s Parliament on Thursday.

Headline of the day

From Reuters:“Putin to Bush: My dog bigger than yours”

Late-night laughs

David Letterman: “[Sarah Palin] says she wants limited government. … Does she mean fewer elected officials? Or few elected officials who will resign in the middle of their term? I think limited government will be perfect for her limited abilities.”

Jon Stewart mocking the White House press corps: “Uh, Mr. President, Tom Patterson, UPI. Do you suck? Quick follow-up: do you suck so bad you don’t even know how sucky you are? I would like your answer in the form of ‘you suck.’”

Jimmy Fallon: “In his new book, George W. Bush says he considered dropping Dick Cheney from the 2004 ticket because he wanted to demonstrate he was in charge — not Cheney. But then Cheney nixed the idea, so it went back to normal. He didn’t do it.”

Political Circus: McCain vs. Seacrest

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Obama: Let’s move forward

Posted on November 4, 2010 by admin| Comments Off

Washington (CNN) — President Obama has invited the leaders of the Republicans and Democrats in both houses of Congress to join him in a meeting to discuss what to do in the waning days of this Congress’s term, vowing it will “not be just a photo-op,” he said Thursday.

“I want us to talk substantively about how to move the American people’s agenda forward,” he said.

Obama wants to discuss the future of the Bush-era tax cuts, he said. They’re due to expire at the end of the year, and Republicans and Democrats disagree about whether — or how — to extend them.

“We have to act in order to assure that middle-class families don’t see a big tax spike because of how the Bush tax cuts have been structured,” Obama said. “It is very important that we extend those middle-class tax cuts.”

Obama wants to let the tax cuts expire on the wealthiest Americans, while most Republicans do not want to single out the rich for different treatment.

The president said businesses also needed “certainty” about the future.

The meeting is set for November 18, he said.

It follows elections Tuesday in which Obama’s Democrats lost control of the House of Representatives and lost seats in the Senate. Current members of Congress keep their jobs until the end of the year, in what’s known as the “lame-duck” session.

Obama conceded Wednesday that his party had taken a “shellacking” from the voters.

The Republican leader in the Senate has already signaled that he’s more interested in rolling back what Obama has already done than in helping him push his agenda forward.

“For the past two years, Democrat lawmakers chose to ignore the American people, so on Tuesday the American people chose new lawmakers,” Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, is set to say in an address Thursday to the Heritage Foundation, according to excerpts from his office.

“The White House has a choice: they can change course, or they can double down on a vision of government that the American people have roundly rejected,” he says.

But Obama used his brief statement after a Cabinet meeting to highlight his priorities.

He urged the lame-duck Congress not to drop the ball on an arms control agreement with Russia, saying it is neither a Republican nor a Democratic issue.

“We have negotiated with the Russians significant reductions in our nuclear arms” in the new START treaty, he said.

That has given the United States leverage over Iran’s controversial nuclear program, he argued, because “people have seen that we are serious about taking our responsibilities when it comes to non-proliferation.”

The Senate must approve international treaties for them to take effect.

Obama is also planning to meet newly elected governors from both parties, he said. He’s invited them to the White House on December 2.

The meeting will be a “terrific opportunity to hear from them … about what they’re seeing, what ideas they think Washington needs to be paying attention to. They’ve got very practical problems that they’ve got to solve,” he said, praising their “common-sense approach that the American people are looking for right now.”

Obama: Let’s move forward

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Campaign Circus: Hating Sarah Palin is genetic?

Posted on October 30, 2010 by admin| Comments Off

Washington (CNN) — As Election Day gets closer, the rhetoric gets more intense, interesting and, shall we say, passionate. Here are some things you might have missed.

Blame it on biology

Researchers at the University of California and Harvard University say there’s a genetic reason why some people just can’t stand former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

Between a Reid and a hard place

The New York Times reports that Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer — the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate — is finding himself in an “excruciatingly delicate position” as he works to keep Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in office, while at the same time, weighing his own political ambitions.

After all, if Reid loses to Republican Sharron Angle and Democrats keep control of the Senate, Schumer is widely believed to be next in line.

Let the knives do the voting

AOL News wanted to find out if champion knife-thrower David Adamovich, known as “The Great Throwdini,” could predict upcoming election races by throwing knives at candidates’ names on a spinning wheel. Adamovich, a self-identified conservative, made some interesting picks.

Dog-gone it, they don’t like me

Republicans, still upset at comedian Al Franken’s stunning win to Norm Coleman in Minnesota’s Senate race, are vowing to never let that happen again.

The Republican National Committee’s No More Frankens site asks for donations in order to “stand together in 2010, to ensure that there will be No More Frankens.”

Clowning around

Christine O’Donnell, the Tea Party-backed candidate for a Delaware Senate seat, has faced national scrutiny for campaign gaffes and controversial statements since jumping into the race. But she has taken it in stride and fought back hard each time. Perhaps she learned how to perform under pressure from her father, Daniel O’Donnell, an actor who once played Bozo the Clown.

Oh, Carl

Carl Paladino, the headline-grabbing Republican gubernatorial candidate in New York, is under fire for calling New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand “Schumer’s little girl” — a reference to her close friendship with the state’s senior senator, Chuck Schumer.

Waiting ’til the last minute

Rep. Michele Bachmann isn’t quite sure that Minority Leader John Boehner would make a great Speaker of the House if Republicans take back control after Election Day.

In a radio interview, the Minnesota Republican said she’d have to weigh all the candidates before her and would vote for Boehner if he were the only candidate running.

Photo of the day: What’s in my drink?

Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink seems a little unsure of taking a sip of her cafecito at a campaign stop at the Cuban Versailles restaurant Friday in Miami, Florida. Perhaps she got a text message warning her about it? Just joking. Check out the Getty Images photo.

Don’t mess with Biden’s hair

Comedian Jimmy Fallon took a cheap shot at Vice President Joe Biden’s hair last night, joking:

“During a campaign stop in New York this week Joe Biden said to a volunteer, ‘if I had your hair, I would have been president.’ In response the guy was like, ‘if I had your hair I wouldn’t bring up the subject of hair.’”

CNN’s Kristi Keck contributed to this report.

Campaign Circus: Hating Sarah Palin is genetic?

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Campaign Circus: Ben Stein calls Miller a ‘clown’

Posted on October 25, 2010 by admin| Comments Off

(CNN) — As Election Day gets closer, the rhetoric gets more intense, interesting and, shall we say, passionate. Here are some things you might have missed.

Miller? Miller? Miller?

Ben Stein — famous for his role in the ’80s movie classic “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and his political/economic commentary — took to the pages of the Alaska Dispatch to blast Tea Party-backed Republican Senate candidate Joe Miller, calling him a “dangerous, stupid clown.”

Tell us how you really feel

Frank Caprio, the Democrat running to become Rhode Island’s next governor, did not hold back his anger when it was reported that President Obama would not endorse him. He said in a radio interview, “He can take his endorsement and really shove it as far as I’m concerned.”

Obama needs “correction”

Gov. Joe Manchin, the Democrat running for West Virginia’s Senate seat, issued a stern warning for the president when asked whether he should be re-elected, saying “Things have got to change.”

The magic of Photoshop

A new television ad is under fire for a photo of Rep. Mark Schauer, D-Michigan, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The problem? Schauer’s campaign says his rival, Republican Tim Walberg, Photoshopped two people out of the photo making it appear as though the Democrat and Pelosi were arm-in-arm.

Photo of the day: Harry Reid’s dance moves

If Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid fails to win re-election, he may have a backup plan: as a contestant on ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars.”

“Big Pimpin” for Obama in 2012

The New York Post reports that Obama’s strategists are eyeing rapper Jay-Z to campaign for the president as 2012 approaches. The targeted demographic: the youth and minority vote.

The Boss opens his wallet

Bruce Springsteen has decided to jump into the 2010 race by donating $2,400 to a fellow rocker taking the political plunge: John Hall, a former member of the band Orleans.

You know you’ve made it when …

“Saturday Night Live” parodies you. The latest person to feel the love is New York gubernatorial candidate Jimmy McMillan, running for the “Rent Is Too Damn High” party. Actor Keenan Thompson gets two gloves up from critics.

Campaign Circus: Ben Stein calls Miller a ‘clown’

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Where are Bush, Cheney as election nears?

Posted on October 22, 2010 by admin| Comments Off

Washington (CNN) — Dick Cheney is certainly not one to hold back on how he really feels. George W. Bush, on the other hand, has been mum.

Despite their differing approaches to handling the post-White House years, their absence on the campaign trail has been obvious.

“The former president has been very quiet since leaving the White House in 2008, other than appearances related to fundraising and the establishment of his presidential library,” said political analyst Bill Crane. “The vice president has primarily been visible on issues such as national defense and has traditionally not been the strongest fundraising draw.”

Cheney also has been dealing with health troubles — undergoing heart surgery in July and spending the bulk of his time since then recovering.

But that is not stopping him. The 69-year-old soon will embark on a 10-stop speaking tour this year, with additional plans next year when his memoirs are slated to come out.

While conservatives adore the former vice president, they understand that he is a polarizing figure, especially to independents, a vital voting bloc in any election.

“Conservatives would love to see Dick Cheney be more vocal,” said S.E. Cupp, a conservative blogger and co-author of the book “Why You’re Wrong about the Right.” “But at the same time, he’s not an idiot and neither are conservatives. He realizes that while that might energize the conservative base, that might not win over many independents who have a very bitter taste in their mouth from the Bush administration.”

And it shows in the polls.

A USA Today/Gallup Poll in early September found that 71 percent said Bush should get blame for the country’s economic troubles. A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll taken at the same time indicated that 53 percent blamed Bush and Republicans for causing the current economic conditions, while 33 percent blamed President Obama and Democrats.

Those numbers may be why Tea Party-backed candidates such as Republican Sharron Angle and Ken Buck have made a name for themselves and are neck and neck in the polls against their Democratic opponents. They tout themselves as outside the Washington fray.

Washington insiders such as House Minority Leader John Boehner and Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele are likely seen as a part of the problem to voters disenchanted with Washington.

“There’s a reason why so many of these conservative candidates are not going to John Boehner to help them to campaign,” Cupp said. “They kind of want to do it on their own to have at least an appearance of being grass-roots and unaffiliated.”

Democratic strategist Mark Siegel, who served under former President Carter, said Bush’s presence on the campaign trail would hurt the GOP candidates’ message that they would govern differently than the previous administration.

“Democrats have been saying over and over again that if you elect these new Republicans we’re just going to go back to the way things were,” he said.

Crane argues that Bush’s absence has more to do with respect.

“President Bush’s father took a similar approach during the Clinton years,” Crane said. “Having spent some time around the family … this is more about their respect for the office … as opposed to ‘fear’ by GOP challengers and incumbents about being connected with Bush, in my humble opinion.”

But Bush soon will appear from his so-called hiding when his book “Decision Points” is released on November 9. He is expected to give exclusive interviews and make appearances — after the November 2 election.

The ex-president has released a YouTube video previewing his upcoming book. In the video, Bush says he decided to take an “untraditional approach” to his memoir, forgoing an “exhaustive, chronological account of my life and years in office.”

CNN Political Ticker: Bush on ‘What I got right, what I got wrong’

Cupp said that Bush’s media blitz after the election is most likely due to his own political savvy.

“I don’t think he wants anyone to be able to say, ‘If Bush just hadn’t had said that or done that or gone there, maybe I could have won,’ ” she said. “It’s self-protection for one. I think he wants to stay out of the headlines for a bit.”

She added that this understanding of the political climate right now may be behind his decision to stay out of the spotlight.

And that is something Democrats have seized on.

Obama and Vice President Joe Biden repeatedly have invoked Bush’s name on the campaign trail — talking points that more than likely originated from a poll this summer by the Benenson Strategy Group, the president’s chief polling firm, for Third Way, a moderate think tank.

Conducted June 19-22 of 1,100 likely voters, the poll found that Bush’s economic principles are “almost universally rejected” by a large margin — and merely bringing up the former president’s name causes a swing in attitudes.

When respondents were asked whether they would prefer a candidate who “will stick with President Barack Obama’s economic policies” or “one who will return to President George W. Bush’s economic policies,” the result was a 15-point advantage for the Obama approach.

Read more about Democrats’ Bush bashing

But a lot has changed since then.

According to CNN/Opinion Research poll in October, Americans are divided over whether Obama or Bush performed better in the White House.

By 47 percent to 45 percent, Americans say Obama is a better president than Bush. But that margin is down from a 23-point advantage a year ago.

“Democrats may want to think twice about bringing up former President George W. Bush’s name while campaigning this year,” said Keating Holland, CNN’s polling director.

Many moderate Democrats in hard-fought battles this year are shying away from being seen with the president — but are putting out the welcome mat for another one: Bill Clinton.

He has stumped in conservative areas for Blue Dog Democrats and is a real asset for Democrats across the board, Siegel said.

“Bill Clinton is not governing now. And when you think back to his presidency, at least economically, you think about a booming economy and surpluses, fiscally responsible,” he said. “I could see how he would be a tremendous plus. Bubba in the South — very, very popular culturally … popular among the people who are going to be determining the fate of a lot of Blue Dog Democrats.”

Where are Bush, Cheney as election nears?

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Can Dems and GOP work together after the election?

Posted on October 18, 2010 by admin| Comments Off

Washington (CNN) — Bipartisanship is in the eye of the beholder, it seems, as Democrats and Republicans ponder how cooperation between them can improve after the upcoming congressional elections.

The voting on November 2 is expected to diminish Democratic majorities in both chambers and perhaps cost them control of the House. Whatever the final tally, widespread voter dissatisfaction with the hostile political climate in Washington is evident.

Democrats blame Republican intransigence, calling the GOP a “party of no” that has opposed almost every initiative to undermine President Barack Obama’s campaign pledge to change Washington politics.

Republican leaders say their opposition is a response to a left-leaning agenda pushed by Obama and Democratic leaders that far exceeds what the public wants.

In a new development this election cycle, the conservative Tea Party movement wants to throw out both parties, but its agenda aligns it with Republicans in the heated campaigning.

Video: David Axelrod talks elections, tax cuts

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While Obama and some Democrats and Republicans say they hope for better relations after the election, they express different views of what that would mean.

“We’re going to continue to reach out, and we’re going to look for common ground and a way forward to solve the problems facing this country,” White House senior adviser David Axelrod said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” program Sunday.

Axelrod predicted Democrats will keep their majorities in both chambers, but conceded that “Republicans will have more seats in Congress.”

“We’re hoping with that comes a greater sense of responsibility,” he said.

Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas had a different take, telling “Fox News Sunday” that it is up to Obama to change, not Republicans.

“If the president’s going to maintain his ideological stance and try to jam things through to support the left in America, when we’re still a center-right country, then we’re going to say ‘no,’ ” Cornyn said, adding that Republicans will work with Obama on issues such as job creation, spending cuts and reducing the national debt.

“There is , I think, a fatigue on the part of the American people with the aggressive agenda that, frankly, they don’t agree with, but they haven’t been listened to,” Cornyn said. “They’ve been lectured to, and they’re tired of it. They’re going to speak up on November 2nd.”

Cornyn’s Republican colleague, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, agreed on the CBS program “Face the Nation” that Obama and Democratic leaders “over-reached” in the first two years, which he said rattled the American people.

“I don’t think it’s about everybody becoming a Republican in the last two years,” Graham said of expected GOP election victories next month. “I do believe it’s a rejection of an agenda that scares people. The health care bill, the stimulus package, the financial regulation, all the spending was not what people expected from this president.”

At the same time, some bipartisanship will occur, Graham predicted.

“There will be a bipartisan effort to extend the Bush tax cuts and not let them expire” at the end of the year, Graham said. As Democratic candidates in swing states realize voters want middle-ground policies instead of a liberal agenda, more compromise will come, he said.

“I think we’re going to have some bipartisanship when it comes to replacing the health care bill with a more moderate approach,” Graham said. “You’ll see some Democrats and Republicans working early on to try to moderate things.”

According to Graham, the Tea Party movement has helped refocus the national political debate on a center-right agenda, but added that conservatives shouldn’t get carried away.

“Our Tea Party friends have done us a favor, “Graham said. “But if we talk about doing away with Social Security as part of our agenda, then we’re going to lose the public. … If you get too far right or too far left, you’re going to lose the American people.”

Axelrod and White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs outlined an agenda for the second half of Obama’s presidential term that focuses on the nation’s immediate and long-term economic welfare.

Gibbs told the NBC program “Meet the Press” that the president will work on strengthening the economy and trying to ensure its future stability, while continuing to push education reform and making sure that health care and Wall Street reforms are properly implemented.

Obama needs Democrats and Republicans to work together to deal with the federal debt, Gibbs said. A bipartisan debt commission is scheduled to report a set of proposals in December.

He made no mention of major issues such as immigration reform and energy reform, which Obama pushed strongly in his first two years. Axelrod, speaking on CNN, said both issues were part of the necessary foundation of reforms for sustainable economic growth in the future.

“I think that regardless of the outcome of election night that voters are going to want two political parties who may have different ideas but understand they have to come together and work together to solve our problems,” Gibbs later told reporters.

However, other Democrats don’t expect a new spirit of partisanship to emerge.

“It doesn’t appear right now that the Republican Party is welcoming moderates any more,” Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill said of the effect of the Tea Party movement on GOP candidates.

“I think that independent voters need to take a hard look in these elections and realize that what we may be getting to is the kind of gridlock that, frankly, is not something that’s desirable in terms of good policy in this country,” McCaskill said on “Fox News Sunday.

Republicans “won’t even pledge that they’ll quit earmarking,” she said, later adding: “If they won’t even say they’ll stop earmarking in this kind of spending problem that we’re facing, I just think there’s a lot of politics being played.”

Can Dems and GOP work together after the election?

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Is Russ Feingold finished?

Posted on October 15, 2010 by admin| Comments Off

Milwaukee, Wisconsin (CNN) — It doesn’t get more outside the Beltway than Wisconsin Republican Senate candidate Ron Johnson.

“I’d never been to Washington D.C…. until this election. I’ve gone three times just to familiarize myself and meet with some groups. But that’s it,” Johnson said.

A millionaire businessman running in his first election, Johnson is favored to take down three-term Democrat Russ Feingold. A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released this week shows Johnson with an eight point lead.

Don’t tell that to Feingold. At a fundraiser headlined by first lady Michelle Obama on Wednesday, Feingold boasted, “As of this moment I am no longer behind.” A Feingold campaign spokesman told CNN its own internal polling shows the race is much tighter.

In an interview with CNN, Feingold brushed off the latest polls. “See Washington always has to catch up with the reality on the ground in Wisconsin,” Feingold said.

Johnson owes much of his quick political success to the Tea Party. He picked up the support of the conservative movement earlier this year with fiery speeches at Tea Party rallies. “America needs to be pulled back from the brink of socialism and state control,” Johnson told a Tea Party crowd in Madison, Wisconsin, last May.

An unabashed conservative who runs a medical packaging company in Oshkosh, Johnson’s outrage over health care reform led him to run for the Senate. “I view that as the single greatest assault on our freedom in our lifetime,” Johnson said.

Johnson’s positions are straight out of the Tea Party movement: repeal health care reform, cut taxes, shrink government and oppose climate change legislation. “It’s unsettled science,” Johnson says of humanity’s effect on global warming.

Feingold has surprised many of his fellow Wisconsin liberals by making his own appeal for Tea Party votes.

“He’s for the Patriot Act. I’m the only guy who voted against the Patriot Act. He’s for these trade deals that shipped Wisconsin jobs overseas. I’m against them,” Feingold said. “I agree with (Tea Party voters) on many key issues.”

But Feingold voted in favor of health care reform. He’s one of the few Democrats running an ad touting his vote. “That’s something (Tea Party voters) don’t like,” Feingold said. “But you know why? Because they weren’t told the truth about what’s in it.”

An architect of campaign finance reform, Feingold is being hammered by outside special interest groups running TV ads and billboards opposing his campaign. Johnson is also spending millions of his own fortune on his bid.

“I gotta tell you the history of my races. Every time some super rich guy goes, ‘hey Feingold looks like easy pickins,’ but they haven’t gotten me yet. And they’re not gonna get me this time,” Feingold said.

It’s not clear whether the bombardment of campaign messaging is resonating with Wisconsin voters who worry about the economy.

James Farrell, a co-owner of a brick masonry company and a Johnson supporter, says his business has suffered in the recession.

“It’s hard to be in business anymore, and something’s gotta change or a lot of people won’t be in business,” Farrell said.

Johnson says his experience in running a manufacturing business is exactly what Washington needs.

“I’m just a guy from Oshkosh,” Johnson said.

Is Russ Feingold finished?

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New York gubernatorial candidate criticizes gays

Posted on October 11, 2010 by admin| Comments Off

New York (CNN) — New York Republican gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino is disputing some comments attributed to him Sunday, in which he criticized gays.

The two lines in question were part of a longer, written political statement that was handed out at an address to a group of Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood and obtained by CNN from New York affiliate NY1.

“There is nothing to be proud of in being a dysfunctional homosexual,” the statement said. “That is not how God created us.”

“I do not agree with this passage, nor did I say it,” Paladino said in a statement released late Sunday. “Apparently a few reporters relied upon suggested remarks distributed by my hosts at the synagogue in Williamsburg after my departure, not the actual statement I made.”

“I unequivocally have no other reservations about homosexuality,” Paladino’s statement continued. “I enjoy a close relationship with my nephew who is gay and I certainly consider him to be a functional child of God.”

Paladino’s nephew, Jeffrey Hannon, a member of the campaign staff, was contacted by CNN early Monday.

“I have no comment right now,” he said.

The written remarks given to reporters were identical to Paladino’s spoken comments other than the two sentences in question.

In his spoken comments, Paladino said he didn’t want children “to be brainwashed into thinking that homosexuality is an equally valid or successful option,” compared to heterosexuality. “It isn’t.”

The candidate’s remarks came a day after New York police announced the arrest of an eighth suspect in a series of brutal, anti-gay hate crimes against four men.

The incident last weekend involved three victims being held against their will by as many as nine assailants who beat them in a vacant apartment and sodomized two of them, police said. A fourth victim was beaten and robbed in connection with the attacks.

“Don’t misquote me as wanting to hurt homosexual people in any way,” Paladino said Sunday. “That would be a dastardly lie — my approach is live and let live.”

“I just think my children and your children would be much better off and much more successful getting married and raising a family,” he said.

Paladino also slammed his Democratic opponent, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, for marching in New York’s gay pride parade in June.

“That’s not the example that we should be showing the children and certainly not in our schools,” he said.

Cuomo spokesman Josh Vlasto responded to Paladino’s comments Sunday.

“Mr. Paladino’s statement displays a stunning homophobia and a glaring disregard for basic equality,” Vlasto said in a statement. “These comments along with other views he has espoused make it clear that he is way out of the mainstream and is unfit to represent New York.”

Paladino’s remarks also drew fire from gay rights groups.

“Carl Paladino’s comments would matter if they were coming from a serious political figure, however they are not,” said Christopher Barron, chairman of the gay conservative group GOProud, in an email to CNN. “They are instead coming from the imploding campaign of a man with the personal baggage of John Edwards and all the electability of Alan Keyes.”

The Log Cabin Republicans of New York State also took issue with the candidate.

“Carl Paladino’s statements are unfortunate and show he lacks an understanding of what it means to be gay,” said Gregory T. Angelo, chairman of the group. “I think gay men and women — my neighbors and your neighbors — would be much better off and much more successful if they were allowed equal rights and the option of getting married and raising a family. I don’t want New Yorkers to be brainwashed into thinking that ignorance is an equally valid and successful option. It isn’t.”

But Paladino’s campaign manager, Michael Caputo, stood by the gubernatorial candidate’s comments on homosexuality.

“Carl Paladino’s position on this is exactly equivalent to the Catholic Church,” Caputo told CNN. “And if Andrew Cuomo has a problem with the Catholic Church’s position on abortion and homosexuality, he needs to take it up with his parish priest.”

CNN’s Cheryl Robinson, Mark Preston and Jason Kessler contributed to this report.

New York gubernatorial candidate criticizes gays

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Axelrod hopes GOP gains bring cooperation

Posted on October 10, 2010 by admin| Comments Off

Washington (CNN) — White House senior adviser David Axelrod is looking for a silver lining in expected Democratic losses in November’s congressional elections.

While saying he thought his party would retain its majority in both the House and Senate in the November 2 voting, Axelrod told the CBS program “Face The Nation” that that he hoped Republican gains would bring more cooperation.

He accused Republicans of deliberate obstruction as a political strategy since President Barack Obama took office last year with majorities in both the House and Senate.

“The posture of the Republican Party from the moment we got here has been basically to deprive the president of bipartisan support so they could accuse him of not being bipartisan,” Axelrod said.

“So I’m hoping that with more seats, the Republicans will feel a greater sense of responsibility to work with us to solve some of these problems,” he said.

Former Republican National Committee chairman Ed Gillespie indicated a continued GOP hard-line stance on spending issues.

“I think there will be areas where there’s cooperation and areas where there’s opposition,” Gillespie said on the same program. “Look, the Republicans, if they take control of the House and get very close in the Senate, are going to try to put the brakes on all this reckless spending.”

Gillespie said “common ground” was possible on a few issues such as free trade agreements, but maintained his focus on spending controls.

“If they can find some areas where you can get spending restraint with this administration, Republicans would be happy to go along with that,” he said.

Axelrod hopes GOP gains bring cooperation

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Quick shots: GOP extremes and Dems’ burden

Posted on October 8, 2010 by admin| Comments Off

(CNN) — Editor’s note: There are 25 days to go before voters cast ballots in the hotly contested midterm elections. In this special feature, CNN’s political contributors share their quick thoughts on what’s making news.

John Avlon is a CNN contributor and senior political columnist for The Daily Beast. He is the author of “Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America.”

David Gergen is a senor political analyst for CNN and has been an adviser to four U.S. presidents. He is a professor of public service and director of the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Avlon: A campaign of false choices

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The “silly season” feels more like an insane season this year.

I’m not talking about Christine O’Donnell’s surreal “I’m not a Witch” ad (though I couldn’t resist mentioning it). I’m talking about the politics of incitement — the fear-mongering and false choices that too often dominate our political debates.

Case in point came this week from two prospective 2012 GOP presidential nominees who have been hitting the campaign trail hard for candidates this year. Newt Gingrich pronounced 2010 a choice between food stamps and paychecks, not Democrats and Republicans. Sarah Palin went the existential route, calling it a choice between “a culture of death” and “culture of life.”

It’s a measure of our political culture: running for president used to inspire a person to be more responsible; now irresponsibility is seen as a strategic asset when it comes to playing to the base.

In this year’s candidate ads, we’ve seen Florida Democrat Alan Grayson describe his opponent as “Taliban Dan” (during wartime), and now GOP Senate nominee Sharron Angle of Nevada has an ad portraying Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid as scheming to spend taxpayer dollars to buy Viagara for child molesters and sex offenders.

It’s not just ugly; it’s stupid. It plays to the worst instincts of the American people. It’s evidence of politicians following the talk-radio model, where there is no such thing as too extreme. (And in a sign of things to come, Rush Limbaugh’s new name for President Obama is “imam child.”) No wonder 130 former lawmakers signed a letter warning that politicians “who far exceed the bounds of normal and respectful discourse are not viewed with shame but are lionized. … Meanwhile, lawmakers who try to address problems and find workable solutions across party lines find themselves denigrated by an angry fringe of partisans.”

This is the state of politics in 2010 — hate and fear used to pump up hyper-partisanship. Unless we confront this culture, it will make governing the country and solving common problems even tougher after the election.

Gergen: Jobs report a heavy burden for Democrats

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Friday’s unemployment report — the last before November’s election — delivers a harsh verdict for Democrats.

Barack Obama now heads into the midterm elections with the highest average unemployment record of any president since records were first kept some 60 years ago. For presidents from Eisenhower to Bush, unemployment has averaged in the mid-5 percent range; under Obama, the average is 9.4 percent.

The current situation also breaks the record for the longest period of elevated unemployment: stuck at 9.5 percent or higher for 14 straight months.

Democrats can argue they inherited an economic calamity — and they are absolutely right — but they have precious little to show for their flood of new spending, and they seem to have run out of ideas on how to fix things. It’s hard to imagine a heavier burden for Democratic candidates to carry into November.

The opinions expressed in these commentaries are solely those of the authors.

Quick shots: GOP extremes and Dems’ burden

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