Video: Rappin' 'bout the Debt Ceiling

Well, now that you've done all you could by telling your Representatives to vote 'no' on the Boehner / McConnel sandwich, it's time to move on to the next fight and remember the names of those who didn't listen so you know how to vote in 2012. In the meantime, why not enjoy this rap from Remy? It's called 'Raise the Debt Ceiling.' If you haven't been following the debt ceiling debate and are mildly confused by all the fuss, this might help explain it.



h/t Impeach Obama

DeMint to Back Primary Candidates Seeking to Replace Incumbents who Voted for Boehner / McConnell Sandwich?

It is no secret that the Tea Party isn't the least bit happy with the debt ceiling deal that was agreed to by Speaker John Boehner. Now, the group's most powerful advocate - Jim DeMint - appears to be poised to do something he pledged he said he wouldn't do; the Senator from South Carolina is hinting that he will back Tea Party candidates seeking to unseat incumbents who voted for the debt ceiling deal passed by the House. If this is true, any Republican who ultimately got in line behind Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Boehner should take notice; DeMint became quite the Tea Party kingmaker in 2010.

Via the Hill:

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) might back primary challengers to incumbent Republican senators after all.

DeMint had promised after last year’s election that he would not endorse any opponents to his fellow GOP lawmakers in the 2012 cycle. But now he is angry enough with the debt-ceiling compromise that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) struck with President Obama that he might back serious challengers to Republican senators who support the plan, according to a source close to the senator.

“He’s already opened the door to changing that policy in terms of supporting people in primaries — this deal could bring him to the point where he says he’s not going to make any guarantees,” said the source, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitive nature of intraparty relations. “It’s not a threat that he’s going to oppose anybody, but ... if he does, nobody should be surprised.”

Without DeMint, the Senate would likely consist of Charlie Crist and Mitch McConnell's choice for the seat ultimately won by Rand Paul:

DeMint, whose Senate Conservatives Fund helped finance several right-wing Republican candidates last election, angered Republican leaders when he backed a handful of conservative challengers to candidates backed by the establishment.

He supported Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) over McConnell’s favored candidate in Kentucky and helped give Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) an early boost in his primary against then-Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (I).

After the 2010 elections, DeMint promised his colleagues he would not endorse any primary candidates, but the debate over raising the debt ceiling has changed his mind. DeMint said in mid-June at the Republican Leadership Conference that “if we have folks who go the wrong way on [the debt-ceiling vote], it’s going to be pretty hard for me to sit still” and stay out of primaries.

One thing is for certain. The 2010 elections were monumental and Republicans that were either sent to Washington for the first time or reelected, were sent a very clear message that came with a short leash. The Tea Party is in no mood to look the other way when it comes to the recent debt ceiling vote.

h/t Hot Air

Biden's Most Despicable Gaffe?

Vice president Joe Biden has said some extremely dumb things over the last several years. He instructed a man in a wheel-chair to stand up; he identified j-o-b-s as a three letter word; he somehow thought Franklin Delano Roosevelt was president during the 1929 stock market crash and then went on television, which didn't exist at the time, to talk to the American people; he infamously said that the United States needs to keep spending money in order to prevent bankruptcy. There are many, many more but on the night that Rep. Gabrielle Giffords returned to Congress, Biden officially made his worst gaffe... ever.

Via ABC News:

Escorted by her husband and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., Giffords exited the House floor slowly, giving a small wave to people as she left. She left the Capitol in an SUV shortly thereafter.

"It's been an emotional few hours," Wasserman Schultz told ABC News' Diane Sawyer on "World News." She said Giffords decided to make the trip to Washington because she "wanted to make sure that her district had a voice in this important vote."

Her appearance on the floor "melted even the hardest hearts," Wasserman Schultz told Sawyer.

"I've never seen more electricity on the floor erupt than when she triumpantly walked up those stairs," she said.

When Biden was asked about what he spoke with Giffords about, he joked, "She's now a member of the cracked head club like me."

The debt ceiling bill passed the House 269-161. The Senate will vote on the measure on Tuesday.

I think that one may even trump his referring to the Tea Party as a group of 'terrorists.'