Last Call For Some Snyder Remarks

How bad are things for GOP Gov. Rick Snyder's re-election campaign in Michigan right now?

Bad enough that he's taking credit for Obamacare's Medicare expansion in his state.

Gov. Rick Snyder on Tuesday touted Michigan’s successful Medicaid expansion as part of his re-election bid, saying 63,000 more low-income adults have signed up than projected this year, with [three-and-a-half] months left. 

The Republican governor said about 385,000 enrolled between April, when the Healthy Michigan program launched, and Monday. His administration had expected 322,000 signups by year’s end. 

“At that level, we’re adding over 9,000 patients a week,” Snyder said at an endorsement event at the Michigan State Medical Society, an East Lansing-based professional association of physicians. “It’s outstanding progress.”

 But...death panels!  Evil mandates!  Death spirals!

Our old friend Chris Savage, ruler of all things liberal in Michigan over at the indispensable Eclectablog, reminds us that the state's Tea Party is quite pissed at Snyder over this too.

The bottom line of course is that like here in Kentucky, the states that embraced Obamacare are finding out it's working and cutting millions of uninsured.  Even Republican governors are signing up now.  First, Pennsylvania's Tom Corbett, now Michigan's Rick Snyder.

The rest will follow.

.

Energy Efficiency, Standard

Here comes the next big freakout by the GOP and the energy companies who completely own them over energy standards from the White House:

The U.S. Department of Energy unveiled its latest energy efficiency rule on Thursday, a standard for commercial air conditioning units that the White House believes could slash energy use in commercial and industrial buildings. 

The proposal would cut climate-changing carbon emissions by more than 60 million tonnes, and could save more energy than any other efficiency standard issued by the Energy Department to date, the White House said in a release. 

The new standard was part of a package of actions announced on Friday that the White House said would curb nearly 300 million tonnes of carbon emissions by 2030 and save consumers more than $10 billion on energy bills.

The Energy Department also said it would train veterans to install solar panels at military bases, while the Agriculture Department said it would invest $68 million in 540 renewable energy and efficiency projects in rural areas, including 240 solar projects.

Save consumers $10 billion in power bills?  You mean "cost energy companies $10 billion in revenue."  We can't have that, you know.  Expect shrill attacks calling this fascist socialism, and white papers saying how this will end up costing consumers more than they save if you take factors X, Y and Z into account (because efficiency standards always do, right?)

Considering the UN's big climate change conference starts Tuesday, preceded by a city-wide march on Central Park on Sunday, the climate change deniers are going to be going bonkers for the rest of the month.  You can count on that.

You can also count on any climate treaty that comes out of that UN conference to be dead on arrival in the US Senate if the Republicans win in November, too.

Even FOX Screws Up And Tells The Truth Sometimes

Hey, when you have a 24 hour news channel to fill, controlling every single word uttered can be an issue.  So it's no surprise that every now and again FOX News slips up and chooses to fill dead air with actual truth rather than GOP propaganda.  Case in point: FOX News correspondent Mike Tobin discussing voter suppression in Republican Scott Walker's run for re-election as Wisconsin's governor.

On September 12, the 7th District U.S. Court of Appeals dissolved an injunction blocking the state of Wisconsin from implementing voter ID laws that required voters to show photo identification in order to cast their votes. According to Reuters, these new rules are set to go into effect in time for the November general elections. 

During the September 17 edition of Special Report with Bret Baier, Fox correspondent Mike Tobin reported on the upcoming gubernatorial election between Governor Scott Walker (R) and Democratic challenger Mary Burke. During a discussion of polling numbers placing the two candidates at a statistical tie, Tobin acknowledged that the implementation of the state's new voter ID laws could potentially impact the election. Claiming that "there is only a handful of voters who won't get IDs by election day," he went on to say that "even a handful can tip the scales" in this election.

Say what?  You mean Republican voter ID laws are about reducing the number of traditionally Democratic voters through disenfranchising them with onerous bureaucratic requirements, and not "maintaining electoral integrity" like they keep bleating about?

Who knew?

If anyone watching FOX News caught this, maybe they do.

I wouldn't count on it though.

StupidiNews!

• Australian police have arrested one and detained 15 others in a massive police raid designed to interrupt a "pending terror attack" by ISIS.
• US senators on both sides of the aisle are calling for the resignation of Alabama US District Court Judge Robert Fuller after his arrest for beating his wife last month in an Atlanta hotel room.
• Record turnout is expected today as Scots are at the polls deciding on independence from the UK, with results of the vote expected tomorrow morning.
• US gas prices are falling sharply as the summer driving season ends, which could see gas below $3 a gallon in some parts of the country later this fall.
• Sony continues to take a bath on its mobile phone division as the Japanese electronics giant could end up losing more than $2 billion this fiscal year.