Last Call For The Paranoia Bubble

Just a reminder that in the FOX News/AM Talk Radio alternate reality, the real (and only) racism in America is against white people, the poor dears.  Raw Story:

A Christian radio host insisted last week that white people were no longer racist, and even if they were, it’s the fault of racist black people. 

Sandy Rios, of American Family Radio, was offended when a listener suggested she was racist toward black people, who she blamed for inciting white racism. 

“I think the racist garbage coming from the — uh, a lot of blacks right now who are just filled with bitterness and rage is just amazing to me,” Rios said. “It is racism, I am seeing it constantly here in D.C., you know, I think — and it’s causing white citizens to become more racist than they ever were.” 

She continued, referring to white people using the term for Germanic tribes that once dominated England and is now generally associated with British-American Protestants and white supremacists. 

“I think for the most part, the American Anglo-Saxon crew really has moved past racism, they did it quite a long time ago,” she said.

And Sandy's living proof of that, right?

To recap her worldview:

1. Black people are all angry bitter racists.
2. White people aren't racist at all.
3. ...Except for the white people who are.
4. But that's okay because it's caused by the fact that...
5. Black people are all angry bitter racists.

The fact I'm pointing this out is proof of this, right?

Jim DeMented's Job Review

Former senator Jim DeMint left Congress to run the Heritage Foundation in 2013 to give the organization the, ahem, credibility it needed to count as an outside Tea Party group rather than the DC insider think tank that it is, and a year later, it looks like the Powers That Be aren't super happy with the arrangement.

In its first year under former senator and tea party godfather Jim DeMint, there was a growing consensus -- and concern -- that the foundation once renowned for its intellectual rigor might now be more of a political advocacy outlet than a home for scholarly research, albeit of the conservative variety. 

Heritage saw a study on the supposed cost of immigration reform blasted by those within its own ideological sphere as methodologically shoddy. One of its authors was forced to resign after revelations of anti-immigrant views in his earlier work surfaced. Its Obamacare research has come under scrutiny for its inherent bias, as TPM has reported. 

Those unforced slip-ups, and its advocacy arm's growing reputation as a bully toward any kind of moderation, have started to call the foundation's reputation into question on Capitol Hill. Conservatives lamented to the New Republic that Heritage had become a political action group "with a research division," burning bridges with the House GOP, something totally foreign to "the gold standard of conservative, forward-looking thought" that it used to be. The foundation's $82 million budget was reportedly being scaled back, with more money flowing to the advocacy efforts that have so chafed Hill Republicans.

In other words, what passes for the "intellectually rigorous conservative community" is shocked -- shocked I tell you! -- to discover that one of the most virulent anti-science Senators in Republican history hasn't provided them with the gravitas they were looking for.  They're apparently even more shocked that DeMint is using academic research and the studies they produce in a fashion that would make cigarette companies blush with embarrassment, fitting data to ideological means and damn the results!

Further proof that "conservative think tank" may be the biggest oxymoron in Washington DC.

The Church Of The New Masters Of The Universe

The Church of the Invisible Hand Of The Free Market dictates that the most moral of us are the wealthiest, because hard work is rewarded.  So the 85 wealthiest people on earth are collectively better morally that the bottom 3.5 billion of the world's population because they are collectively as wealthy.

So rejoice, the Church says. These people are as Saints among you, if not Gods themselves.  You should emulate them in every way!

If you were disheartened by Oxfam's recent report that the 85 richest people in the world hold more wealth than the 3.5 billion poorest people, it's probably just because you lack the entrepreneurial spirit of Kevin O'Leary. 

O'Leary, the businessman and reality television star, reacted to the report with glee earlier this week on the eponymous Canadian talk show, "Lang and O'Leary Exchange." 

"It's fantastic and this is a great thing because it inspires everybody, gets them motivation to look up to the one percent and say, ‘I want to become one of those people, I’m going to fight hard to get up to the top,’” he said. “This is fantastic news and of course I applaud it. What can be wrong with this?"

Bow before your masters, lowly peons!  If you were worthy, you'd be as rich.  You're not, which means you're just too lazy.  Work harder!

The reaction from O'Leary's co-host, Amanda Lang, said it all. 

"Really?" she said. "So, someone living on a dollar a day in Africa is getting up in the morning and saying, ‘I’m going to be Bill Gates’?”

Why there's nothing at all stopping them from doing just that!  The only reason that person in Africa living on a dollar a day hasn't made as much as Bill Gates yet is because they are lazy and immoral, Q.E.D. and Amen!

[UPDATE] And a new Pew Research poll on income inequality bears out that -- surprise! -- most Republicans are members of the Church of the Invisible Hand, while a large majority of Democrats and a slight majority of Independent voters believe in societal advantages and disadvantages.

Republicans of course can't admit that there are structural economic barriers in place in America that have to do with class, gender, and race, otherwise they'd have to admit they're largely responsible for perpetuating them.

StupidiNews!

• Texas has executed a convicted Mexican national despite the protests of the Mexican government, who claimed the execution was a violation of international law.
• Treasury Secretary Jack Lew is asking Congress to raise the debt ceiling by February 7th, or else the administration will have to resort to measures to pay the government's bills.
• Talks between Ukrainian opposition leaders and President Viktor Yanukovich have broken down in Kiev, with the city facing massive and violent protests.
• A California state Senate committee report revealed engineers knew of hundreds of cracks in Chinese manufactured parts for the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, but were told to stay quiet.
• The Supreme Court's first major patent law decision of the year finds a unanimous ruling that the burden of proof for patent infringement rests on the patent holder.

Last Call For Cincinnati's Shame

And Ohio's ridiculous abortion law leaves the Queen City one step closer to being the largest American metropolitan area with no abortion access whatsoever.

A women’s clinic in Cincinnati, Ohio has lost its bid for a reprieve from new, restrictive anti-choice laws in the state and may be forced to close. According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, this leaves the city one step closer to being the largest in the U.S. without any local abortion provider. 

The state moved to revoke Women’s Med Center of Sharonville’s license to practice in the state based on its inability to comply with Republican-sponsored laws aimed at gutting women’s health options in Ohio. State health officials appointed by Gov. John Kasich (R) say that they are acting to protect women’s safety, but Kellie Copeland of the Ohio chapter of the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL) told the Enquirer that the state’s motivations are ideological. 

“Governor Kasich and his political appointees at the Ohio Department of Health are abusing their regulatory authority by moving to close an abortion clinic without any medical justification,” charged Copeland. 

At issue are so-called transfer agreements with local hospitals. Clinics that provide abortions are required to partner with a local hospital. While most abortions are simple outpatient procedures, sometimes there are complications and a patient must be transferred to a hospital.
Republican lawmakers made it illegal for women’s clinics to partner with hospitals that receive state money. Private hospitals, on the other hand, are reluctant to partner with women’s clinics, creating a Catch-22 in which clinics must meet requirements that they are unable to fulfill. This is one of the many ways in which state-level Republicans are attempting to make abortion illegal in the U.S. by default. 

Women’s Med has been operating under a variance request as it searches for a partner hospital. On Friday, Health Department Director Theodore Wymyslo — a Kasich appointee — denied the clinic’s request to renew the variance.

There are a grand total of two abortion clinics in Cincinnati.  One is about to close.  The other, the Planned Parenthood clinic in Mt. Auburn, is about to run out of time on its own transfer agreement on October 1.  If that happens and this clinic closes as well, by the end of the year, you will not be able to get an abortion in Cincinnati, period.  

Or at least, a safe and legal one.  I'm betting you'll be able to get an unsafe and illegal one still.

Working It Out

The latest case to come before the US Supreme Court may be the end of public employee unions, and thus organized labor, in America.  The case is Harris v. Quinn, and it just may be the case that makes "right-to-work" the new normal for all 50 states.  Lyle Denniston at SCOTUSBlog:

In the end, it may not happen, but the demise of public employee unionism was at least on the table for lively discussion in a Supreme Court argument Tuesday morning. The case of Harris v. Quinn would only spell doom for government workers’ collective action, it appeared, if Justice Antonin Scalia could be persuaded to join in doing it in; there just might be enough other votes.

This seemed an unlikely case to even raise that issue, but raise it, it surely did. The case only involves home-care workers who provide medical services for patients one on one, and the prospect that their activities might pose a threat to labor peace appeared remote indeed. Several members of the Court, though, were insistent that this case raises very large issues about labor relations in the public sector — an issue that is stirring up a good deal of agitation around the country, especially in state and local government.

Aside from what was said explicitly from the bench, the atmospherics of Tuesday’s argument suggested strongly that this case has very large potential. The mood of the Court’s more liberal members was one of obvious trepidation, and that of its more conservative members — except for Justice Scalia — was of apparent eagerness to reach anew the core constitutionality of compulsory union support among public workers.

In other words, the only thing keeping public employee unions alive in this country is Justice Scalia, who might consider a court mandate busting practically every union in the country governmental overreach.

It's not looking good.  Nina Totenberg:

"What I don't understand," said Justice Samuel Alito, "is why the union's participation in this is essential. ... Why do they need to have the union intervene here?" All of the benefits negotiated by the union could have been granted unilaterally by the state.

Alito suggested that former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, now in prison on corruption charges, recognized the union in exchange for a large campaign contribution. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli replied that in fact the union recognition program was enacted by large bipartisan majorities in the state Legislature

"In an era when government is getting bigger and bigger," said Justice Anthony Kennedy, "suppose the young person thinks that the state is squandering his heritage on unnecessary or excessive payments or benefits." Can the union "take money" from an employee who disagrees with the union on such "a fundamental question"?

In other words, Justice Kennedy is strongly implying that if a union doesn't have unanimous support among all members, they are unconstitutionally violating First Amendment rights.  It's ridiculous, but there you have it.  And that's a slippery slope, too.  What's to stop them from then saying if a law doesn't have the support of all the people it affects, it's unconstitutional?  If I don't agree with a law, does that mean my First Amendment rights are being trampled?

Who knows?

Bob-bing For Prison Time

The hammer, the anvil, the bellows and the entire blacksmith's shop has fallen on former GOP Virginia Gov. Bob "Invasive Ultrasound" McDonnell, as he and his wife were indicted on federal charges on Tuesday.

Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife were indicted Tuesday on corruption charges after a monthslong federal investigation into thousands of dollars in gifts the Republican received from a businessman and political donor. 

A bond hearing and arraignment is set for both defendants Friday in U.S. District Court in Richmond. 

"Today's charges represent the Justice Department's continued commitment to rooting out public corruption at all levels of government," Acting Assistant Attorney General Raman said in a news release. "Ensuring that elected officials uphold the public's trust is one of our most critical responsibilities." 

McDonnell left office earlier this month after four years in the governor's office. Virginia law limits governors to a single term. 

A federal investigation overshadowed the final months in office for the once-rising star of the Republican Party, with authorities looking into gifts he and his family received from Jonnie Williams, the former CEO of dietary supplements maker Star Scientific. 

In July, McDonnell apologized and said he had returned more than $120,000 in loans and other gifts from Williams. He insisted that he had done nothing illegal on behalf of Star Scientific but said he'd do "things differently today than choices I made a couple of years ago." 

On Tuesday, McDonnell repeated that apology but insisted he had done nothing wrong. 

"I deeply regret accepting legal gifts and loans from Mr. Williams, all of which have been repaid with interest, and I have apologized for my poor judgment for which I take full responsibility," McDonnell said. "However, I repeat emphatically that I did nothing illegal for Mr. Williams in exchange for what I believed was his personal generosity and friendship."

I'll go ahead and save you the trouble of a GOP response:  "This is a politically motivated prosecution by Obama's corrupt and Orwellian 'Department of Justice' against yet another political enemy, with the goal of distracting America from the failure of Obamacare and from the Democrat party's role in the four deaths of brave Americans in Benghazi."

Feel free to use that, Republican operatives.  America really does need a good belly laugh at you clowns.

Oh, and you know who should be really sweating right now?  Chris Christie.

TPM has a recap of the most interesting bits from the indictment here, including the knowledge that the McDonnells were deep in debt, and the suggestion that McDonnell was considering letting Star Scientific use state employees as guinea pigs for human testing of their products:

In August 2011, following an email from Bob McDonnell to Virginia's secretary of health, Maureen McDonnell met at the Executive Mansion with Williams and one of the secretary's senior policy advisors. At that meeting, according to the indictment, Williams discussed the idea of having Virginia government employees use Anatabloc, Star Scientific's anti-inflammatory dietary supplement, "as a control group for research studies." 

This wasn't the only time this kind of idea came up. In October 2011, according to the indictment, Maureen McDonnell accompanied Williams and a research scientist who consulted for Star Scientific to a company event in Grand Blanc, Mich. They took Williams' private plane, and during the flights there and back, they discussed the potential health benefits of Anatabloc, the company's anti-inflammatory dietary supplement, and the need for clinical studies. The scientist later emailed Maureen McDonnell a summary of their discussions. In it, he suggested it might be useful "to perform a study of Virginia government employees… to determine the prevalences [sic] of autoimmune and inflammatory conditions."

Because Republicans care.

StupidiNews!

• A Purdue University student has surrendered himself to police after allegedly shooting another engineering student on campus.
• Over 30 retired US Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps generals have signed a letter urging President Obama to close the detainment facility at Guantanamo Bay
• A US cybersecurity firm says it has evidence that the Russian government hacked several Asian, European, and US companies for financial reasons.
• Japan's Ocean Minister says that China's air defense zone over the East China Sea violates international law.
• Federal law enforcement officials in Manhattan have charged 13 with skimming $2 million from credit card readers at gas stations.

Last Call For More GOP Rebranding

Republicans making more friends on MLK Day, this time in Florida.  From the Tampa Bay Times:

As Americans honored the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday, a Republican candidate for Florida House District 68 said President Barack Obama should be hanged for war crimes.

"I'm past impeachment," Joshua Black wrote on Twitter. "It's time to arrest and hang him high."

Yes, because a Republican candidate calling for the hanging of the nation's first black President on MLK Day is an excellent way to make African-Americans think Republicans aren't a bunch of racist assholes.  Good job, Josh!

Hours after the tweet, Black defended his comment. Obama should be held responsible for ordering a drone strike that killed a U.S. citizen overseas, he said.

"He should be executed for treason," Black said. "I think the appropriate punishment is death. They killed Benedict Arnold. (Obama) shouldn't be allowed to kill Americans without a trial."

The political newcomer said he doesn't fear U.S. Secret Service agents showing up on his doorstep. Many voters might agree with his position, he said, adding: "I guess they're going to call me a racist now."

Well, yes.  You're right, I am going to call you a racist.  So that makes Mr. Black here the victim.  And the part where "many voters might agree" with him?  That's the problem with the GOP right there.  By the way, Joshua Black is actually, well, black.  A gentle reminder that black folk can be awful, racist bigots too.

Judge, Jury, And Exclusionists

It seems like a complete no-brainer, but today's 9th Circuit ruling is a major victory for equality, and the court found that potential jurors in a case cannot be dismissed based on sexual orientation or preference.  BuzzFeed's Chris Geidner:

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, in a unanimous decision, held that discrimination based on sexual orientation is subject to heightened scrutiny — a decision the court concluded has been made in action, though not in word, by the Supreme Court itself.

In describing the reason for applying the new standard, Judge Stephen Reinhardt examined the Supreme Court’s June decision in Edith Windsor’s case challenging the Defense of Marriage Act. Although equal protection claims brought based on sexual orientation have previously been judged under the lowest level of review, called rational basis, the 9th Circuit held that a higher standard now applies.

Writing for the three-judge panel, Reinhardt wrote:

Windsor review is not rational basis review. In its words and its deed, Windsor established a level of scrutiny for classifications based on sexual orientation that is unquestionably higher than rational basis review. In other words, Windsor requires that heightened scrutiny be applied to equal protection claims involving sexual orientation.

Under that heightened scrutiny, in which equal protection claims are considered more carefully by courts reviewing challenged actions, the court concluded that Batson — a Supreme Court case barring juror strikes based on race — also applies to strikes based on sexual orientation.

As Geidner says, this is a very broad ruling.  By subjecting sexual orientation claims in general to heightened scrutiny, it means that a different and more strict legal set of legal protections must be applied to claims involving sexual orientation, the same level of protections extended to racial and gender discrimination claims.

That's a pretty big deal, because it means that in finding sexual orientation is subject to heightened scrutiny, it means that all kinds of discrimination claims must be given serious consideration, and that the official view of the courts must be that LGBTQ Americans are a protected class of litigants that the court admits society has discriminated against, the same as racial and religious minorities.

In other words, the ruling has major implications for equality far beyond that of just jury duty.  And that's a good thing.  It also means that the Supreme Court will have to now weigh in on heightened scrutiny as it applies to LGBTQ Americans, which could pave the way for true equality across the country and not just a patchwork of state laws.

Judge Reinhardt's reasoning is that the Supreme Court all but established the heightened scrutiny precedent by deed in last June's decision to strike down parts of DOMA, even if they punted on the question as far as a technical standpoint.  Therefore, the standard exists and should be applied to all federal laws, and by default, state and local laws as well.

It's a big one, folks.  A big one indeed.

Some Are Way More Equal Than Others

As the latest Davos conference of the super wealthy happens this month in Switzerland, here's a not-so-gentle reminder from OxFam that wealth inequality is a global problem, not just a US one.

The world's wealthiest people aren't known for travelling by bus, but if they fancied a change of scene then the richest 85 people on the globe – who between them control as much wealth as the poorest half of the global population put together – could squeeze onto a single double-decker.

The extent to which so much global wealth has become corralled by a virtual handful of the so-called 'global elite' is exposed in a new report from Oxfam on Monday. It warned that those richest 85 people across the globe share a combined wealth of £1tn, as much as the poorest 3.5 billion of the world's population.

We're not even talking the one percenters here, but the richest .00001%.  The richest 1% globally have about 68 trillion pounds in collected wealth, or $110 trillion.

One hundred ten trillion dollars.

And guess which country has seen the largest growth in wealth for the top one percent since 1980?

 

But we can no longer afford social programs, and can't afford to raise minimum wages, and can't afford tax increases because the precious rich in this country are too burdened.

Think about that.

StupidiNews!

• In Sochi, Russia, police providing security for the Winter Games next month say they are on the lookout for a female terror suspect known as the Black Widow.
• Legislation under consideration in Arizona would make it legal to refuse service to or to refuse to do business with anyone based on religious freedom grounds.
• The UN has withdrawn Iran's invitation to Syrian peace talks based on the opposition by Syrian rebel groups to boycott the talks otherwise.
• Chinese PC maker Lenovo is said to be in talks to buy out IBM's low-end server division, while Big Blue focuses on higher-end servers and cloud computing services.
• The most popular password on the internet is no longer "password" but "123456" according to a new information security survey for 2013.

Last Call For MLK Day Slavery Comparisons

Dear Republicans:

Quit comparing things that you don't agree with to slavery.  In fact, quit comparing anything to slavery that isn't slavery.  Period.

The Multnomah County Republican Party in Oregon was mocked last week for its plans to auction off a rifle in honor of Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr. 

And in attempting to explain the raffle in a press release Monday, the Multnomah GOP drew an ill-timed parallel to slavery, according to the Oregonian.

First problem:  auctioning off a firearm in honor of Dr. King's multiple calls for, you know, non-violent civil disobedience, some 45 years after he was assassinated by a firearm.  That's bad enough to the point of being massively offensive, and I have to wonder if anyone in the Mutlnomah County GOP even thought to pause and think that this might not be the best way to get your point across. 

Second problem:  your statement to the people who thought the auction was offensive:

"The great political issue today is whether or not the American people of all creeds and races will live free or live as slaves - slaves to their own overreaching government," the release read, as quoted by the Oregonian. "50 years ago, Martin Luther King's great speech was an appeal for freedom for African Americans. Today, those same words he spoke 50 years ago are an appeal for freedom for all Americans."

This is just horrible on several levels, which brings us to Problem Number Three, your "apology" to people offended by Problems One and Two.

“In our enthusiasm for celebrating Martin Luther King and Abraham Lincoln and the U.S. Constitution, our Multnomah Republican Party issued a press release that was unfortunately easily misunderstood," the release read, as quoted by the Oregonian. "The GOP stands for individual liberty, lower taxes, smaller government and individual responsibility. We apologize if people were hurt by the message being marred by insufficient wording and/or cynical misinterpretations by those who disagree with us politically. We will certainly endeavor to communicate more clearly in the future, and learn and grow from this experience."

"We're sorry you misunderstood us, and that's your problem, not ours" doesn't count as an apology by any stretch of the imagination.  In fact, it makes you a bunch of colossal assholes.

So yes, keep up that GOP rebranding effort guys, and keep telling yourselves the only reason African-Americans voted for Obama was because he's black, and not because you're a bunch of jackasses who think we're simply too stupid to see your "great truths" about Dr. King.

Formula For Disaster

When the Supreme Court struck down Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act as antiquated and worthless in 2013, they put the burden on Congress to come up with a new formula for determining which states would be subject to pre-clearance.  The problem is, the formula Congress is looking at means Eric Cantor and the GOP House would have to admit that voting discrimination still exists, and in Republican-led states.  He's not about to do that.

The House majority leader has been a rare Republican voice urging assurances that last year's Supreme Court decision to nullify core provisions of the landmark voter protection bill won't foster discrimination at the polls. 

Yet he's given no indication how Congress should proceed or what he would support – a vague position that will be tested now that specific legislation has been introduced with the backing of several prominent Republicans. 

Cantor's office said he's still examining the proposal, would require states with five violations of federal voting laws over the last 15 years to get pre-clearance from Washington before altering their election procedures. All eyes will be on the majority leader's response, which could be the make-or-break moment for the proposal's chances this year. 

There are compelling reasons for Cantor to get on board. As the majority leader, Cantor is on the front lines of the fight to increase the GOP’s control over the lower chamber in November. Republican leaders won't want to be seen blocking a bill designed to protect voters – particularly one with bipartisan support – especially at a time where they’re trying to expand their party’s minority outreach.

The bill also includes a sweetener for Virginians. Under the old provisions shot down by the Supreme Court, the Old Dominion was one of nine states with histories of voter discrimination required to get federal approval before they changed their election procedures. Under the new proposal – which aims to update the formula dictating which states are subject to the extra scrutiny – only four states would be forced to seek such approval. Virginia is not among them.

The states that would remain are Texas, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi, all states that have actively tried to suppress the minority vote and have been called out as doing so.  There's zero way Republicans in those states will go along, so Cantor will have a revolt on his hands.  On the other hand, if he doesn't bring this up for a vote, Democrats will be able to say "Well, which party really cares about voting rights?  It's not the GOP."

The GOP rebranding continues.

Another Bad Day For Chris Christie

Apparently the US Attorney's office invesigating GOP New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie didn't want to wait until this morning to take Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer up on her offer to testify and provide evidence that Christie's office threatened to withhold Sandy relief funds from the city for political reasons.  Zimmer talked to the office on Sunday after coming forward on MSNBC Saturday morning, which means whatever evidence she does have is probably pretty explosive.

Appearing on CNN's "State of the Union," Zimmer said she was told by a member of Christie's administration that Sandy relief funds hinged on her support for a real estate development project and that the directive was coming directly from Christie. 

"She said that to me -- is that this is a direct message from the Governor," Zimmer said, referring to Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, who Zimmer said approached her in a parking lot in May to deliver the message. 

It's "stunning" and "outrageous," but true, the Hoboken mayor told CNN's Candy Crowley. "I stand by my word." 

Later in the day, she released a statement saying that she had met with the U.S. Attorney's Office for several hours at its request and provided the office with her journal and other documents. 

"As they pursue this investigation, I will provide any requested information and testify under oath about the facts of what happened when the Lieutenant Governor came to Hoboken and told me that Sandy aid would be contingent on moving forward with a private development project," she said.

Yeah, for the office to take evidence from Zimmer on a Sunday means things just got very, very real for Christie. In other news, other mayors are coming forward saying other "pay to play" deals were set up for Democrats who backed Christie ahead of last November's election:

Long Branch, N.J. Mayor Adam Schneider (D) on Saturday said he got "enhanced" access to state officials after he endorsed Gov. Chris Christie (R) during his re-election campaign. 

Schneider told the Washington Post that a few months after he endorsed the governor, he contacted his office about an issue he couldn't get resolved by the state utility board.

"I'm not talking to any more underlings, and I'm not being delegated to," Schneider told Christie's aides, a strategy that proved successful. "I got what I needed."

Just a reminder that Republicans who endlessly bleated about "Obama's Chicago machine" politics and "Detroit's culture of corruption" now have their own very real problem, and it's an entire state.