Newt Gingrich Blames Price of Gas on 'Obama's Policies'

In his victory speech Tuesday night, in addition to lying about what Obama said about gas prices, Newt peddled the Palinesque fantasy that "drill, baby drill" is the answer to all our energy problems and also added (starts around 2:15):

GINGRICH: The price of gasoline when I was Speaker [ed. and Bill Clinton was President] was $1.13. The price of gasoline when Barack Obama became president was $1.89. All of this gigantic increase came from his policies.

Really? Well, from 2001-2009, when we had President Arbusto and Vice President Halliburton in the White House, the price of gas nearly tripled — reaching a high of $4.28 per gallon in May 2008 before crashing with the global economy.

And with the Obama recovery, the price has rebounded, but still isn't as high as it was under the Republican oilmen.

So which of Bush/Cheney's "policies" caused the price of gas to go up so much under their watch? And since Republicans controlled all levers of government for four years, why didn't they enact this brilliant "drill everywhere" plan to lower it?

I blame Greenpeace, the Sierra Club and PETA.

Also, the Chevy Volt.

MSNBC Fact Checks Gingrich's Lying About POTUS' Concerns Over Gas Prices

Posted: 07 Mar 2012 06:00 AM PST

After Newt Gingrich's extremely long, lie packed speech on Super Tuesday the panel covering election night at MSNBC actually did some fact checking on one of Gingrich's lies, that President Obama said he only cares about gas prices because it will harm his chances of being reelected.

Newt Makes False Claim About Obama On Gas Prices:

Speaking at his victory party Tuesday night after winning his home state of Georgia, Newt Gingrich falsely claimed President Obama was "worried about higher gas prices because it will make it harder for [him] to get re-elected."

Here's Newt's full comment:

The president was right the other day. He's so nervous about gasoline prices and energy, that he's done two major speeches. I thought today, in one of the most shallow and self-serving comments by a president I've heard in a long time, he was candid in his press conference. He said, you know, I'm really worried about higher gas prices because it will make it harder for me to get re-elected. I did not make this up. It was just nice to know that the president once again has managed to take the pain of the American people and turn it into his own personal problem.

But President Obama didn't say that.

Here's what he really said at today's White House press briefing, directed at Fox News reporter Ed Henry, who asked the president if he actually wants gas prices to go even higher so he can "wean" the American people off fossil fuels.

Ed, just from a political perspective, do you think the President of the United States, going into reelection, wants gas prices to go up even higher? … Is there anybody here who thinks that makes a lot of sense?

Karoli posted President Obama and Ed Henry's little exchange from earlier here -- Fox News' Ed Henry Smacked Down By President Obama During Presidential News Conference.

So why are these rich guys so upset with President Obama?

I am confused by the attitudes toward President Obama from the one percent. Have you been paying attention to the US stock markets? Those markets have climb to a fourteen years high. Here is what I am talking about:

The Dow jones Industrial average rose 66.22 to close at 13,212.04. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 5.19 points to close at 1,408.47. The NASDAQ composite barley moved, falling 3.79 points to close at 3,092.57.

For the quarter, the Dow posted an 8 percent gain and the S&P a 12 percent gain the best for those indexes in 14 years. The gain was 19 percent for the NASDAQ its best since 1991.

The Commerce Department said consumer spending rose in February at the fastest rate in seven months. Strong hiring over the past three months has added up to the best jobs growth in two years, putting more people back to work.

American spent more even though their income has stagnated for two months after taxes and inflation. Some of the increased spending has gone to gasoline which is the most expensive on record for this time of year. Oil prices rose again on Friday up 23 cents in New York to $103.02 per barrel.

Nine out of 10 industry groups in the S&P 500 rose. The biggest gaining category was energy stocks, although refiners fell because of the higher oil prices. Health care stocks rose, too, with two of the biggest gainers being health insurers, UnitedHealth Group Inc and WellPoint Inc., Technology stocks fell slightly.

Apple fell 1.7 percent after a company that makes its iPhones and iPads said it would effectively raise per hour wages at its factories in China, suggesting that manufacturing prices could rise.

Given all of the information stated above happen under President Obama’s administration. I thought the Obama administration didn’t understand business or how it works. That’s what Gov (R-MA) Mitt Romney has been saying only he understand how business works. As always Gov Romney doesn’t have a clue, he seems to do one thing very well and that is tells lies everything he talk about. Given that, Republican Presidential Candidates Gov Romney has an undisputed record of saying things that are untrue. I am in the process of trying research his untruth telling so hopeful I will have it together soon.

Gov (R-MA) like to taut his business accouterment stating the President doesn’t have any and is a light weight when compared to his resume. In my mind the Governor has outsource hundreds of thousands of jobs if not million by what I am calling destroying companies, breaking them up into their more profitable parts. As I understand it as a modern day robber barons he busted up these companies broken them into their more and less profitable parts. Modern day Robber Barons sold off the more profitable part and left the less profitable part to die in place. As long as they rapes these companies and threw away the people like they were trash. In my estimation Governor Romney has stated he was proud of firing people we know this is true by the number of people he has fired during his time as a Modern day Robber Baron.

The Vulture Capitalism practiced by Bain Capital is not what working Americans envision as the “American Dream.”  It is much more like the “American Nightmare.” 

I have another question for you, where is Republican Presidential Candidate Gov Romney tax records for the last eight years? They are hidden because he doesn’t want you to know where all of his off shore bank accounts are hidden so he can avoid paying his fair share of taxes. If his taxes records were without issues he would have released them by now. Just in case you have forgotten, President Obama released his eight years tax records before he started running for the office of the President. I guess IOKIYAR at least that’s what the American people have said.

Romney has a fortune in the Caribbean

THOMAS M. DEFRANK,, ALISON GENDAR, BILL HUTCHINSON

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Mitt Romney's campaign admitted Wednesday that he has millions invested in funds in a Caribbean tax haven — but insisted the GOP front-runner is no tax dodger. 

The White House hopeful and his wife have poured at least $8 million into a dozen funds listed on a Cayman Islands registry, ABC News reported. Other securities records the network examined show Romney has an additional $5 million to $25 million cooling in the Caymans.

Romney’s offshore wheeling and dealing was not apparent on the financial disclosure form he filed in August that declared he made $9.6 million in 2010 and the first nine months of 2011, ABC News reported.

Here is another question for you? Why Republicans Presidential Candidates have constantly attacked President Obama on “The Affordable Care Act”. This act was designed to help Americans who don’t have any health care be covered and help pay for their care. Remember the act was originally a Republicans idea and Gov (R-MA) was at the forefront to implement this health care idea. So why is he afraid to talk about what he did as the Governor of Massachusetts? I know he is running to the right of his party, it appears to me that’s not the place to be but what do I know. I am just an uninformed American who votes. Oh don’t forget about Speaker (R-GA) Newt Gingrich I recall some of the speeches he has given over the years supporting the way “The Affordable Care Act” was constructed. Of course, like all Republicans Presidential Candidates because President Obama adopted their idea they no longer like it IOKIYAR. 

Rick Perry's Planned Parenthood Revenge: Kill Health Care For Poor Women

This is why Rick Perry can never be President of the United States. Mimicking his fellow Merck buddy Nancy Brinker, Perry decided to punish Planned Parenthood by going forward with a state law banning treatment for any condition at a clinic with any ties to abortion providers, specifically:

But under a state law taking effect Wednesday, Henry and other eligible women won't be able to get care at Planned Parenthood clinics — which treat about 44% of the program's patients — or other facilities with ties to abortion providers, meaning those women will have to find new health-care providers.

The $40 million program is at the center of a faceoff between conservative Republican lawmakers and the federal government, which provides 90% of the program's funding. Although Texas already forbids taxpayer money from going to organizations that provide abortions, the law will cut off clinics with any affiliation to a provider, even if it's just a shared name, employee or board member.

Well, here's a problem. Medicaid funding has some conditions tied to it, and Medicaid funding provides about 90 percent of the baseline funding for the Texas Women's Health Program.

Via Huffington Post:

Cindy Mann, director of the Center for Medicaid and State Operations (CMSO), wrote Texas health officials a letter on Thursday explaining that the state broke federal Medicaid rules by discriminating against qualified family planning providers and thus would be losing the entire program, which provides cancer screenings, contraceptives and basic health care to 130,000 low-income women each year.

"We very much regret the state's decision to implement this rule, which will prevent women enrolled in the program from receiving services from the trusted health care providers they have chosen and relied upon for their care," she wrote. "In light of Texas' actions, CMS is not in a position to extend or renew the current [Medicaid contract]."

The federal government pays for nearly 90 percent of Texas' $40 billion Women's Health Program, and nearly half of the program's providers in Texas are Planned Parenthood clinics. But the new law that went into effect earlier this month disqualified Planned Parenthood from participating in the program because some of its clinics provide abortions, even though no state or federal money can be used to pay for those abortions.

According to Medicaid law, Mann said, a state cannot restrict women's ability to choose a provider simply because that provider offers separate services -- in this case, abortion -- that aren’t even paid for by the Medicaid program.

Way to go, Ranger Rick. After all, they're only women. Right?

Maybe it's just me, but the whole blowup over the Susan G Komen Foundation's actions against Planned Parenthood feel like the precursor to this. It didn't surprise me, for example, to discover the Catholic bishops are behind Nancy Brinker's decision to deny Planned Parenthood any eligibility for future grants.

In the end, women are pawns to bishops and the likes of Rick Perry. Vessels made to bear children and heaven forbid they should refuse to, or decide when they do it. That just won't do. Not at all. So we have the bishops and the tea baggers and Big Pharma and Big Cancer Charities all huddled in a corner figuring out how to shove women back to the dark ages.

This war is only beginning.

Mitt Romney On Planned Parenthood: We Will 'Get Rid' Of It

The Huffington Post  |  By Melissa Jeltsen Posted: 03/13/2012 9:39 pm Updated: 03/14/2012 8:35 am

Mitt Romney is doubling down on his commitment to defund Planned Parenthood, telling a reporter in Missouri that he would "get rid of" the country's best-known reproductive health care provider if he were elected president.

In an outdoor interview with Ann Rubin of KSDK.com, Romney offered a few suggestions on how he would cut the deficit.

"Of course you get rid of Obamacare, that's the easy one, but there are others," he said. "Planned Parenthood, we're going to get rid of that."

Planned Parenthood responded to Romney's comments on Tuesday, characterizing them as dangerous and out of step with what Americans want.

“When Mitt Romney says he wants to ‘get rid’ of Planned Parenthood, he means getting rid of the preventive health care that three million people a year rely on for cancer screenings, birth control, and other preventive care," said Dawn Laguens, Vice President for Planned Parenthood Action Fund, in a written statement. “Mitt Romney simply can’t be trusted when it comes to women’s health."

Romney campaign strategist Eric Fehrnstrom downplayed the comments on CNN Tuesday night, saying the former Massachusetts governor was talking about cutting federal funding only.

"It would not be getting rid of the organization," Fehrnstrom said. "We're going to have to make some tough decisions about spending. The test that Mitt Romney will apply is, is this program so worthwhile and valuable that we'll borrow money from China to [fund] it?"

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Romney has said repeatedly he wants to cut federal funding to Planned Parenthood because the organization provides abortion services.

In February, he weighed in on the Susan G. Komen controversy, saying he agreed with their now-reversed decision to cut Planned Parenthood's funding for breast-cancer screenings.

Romney faces an uphill battle convincing conservatives of his anti-abortion stance. His path from pro-choice to anti-abortion has been heavily reported by the media and emphasized by his GOP competitors.

In 2002, he sought Planned Parenthood of Massachusetts' endorsement during his campaign for governor, and continued to support abortion rights until 2005, when he publicly came out as anti-abortion.

Republic Report Sends Letter To 34 Retiring Members of Congress: Stop Backdoor Bribery, Disclose Negotiations With K Street

LEE FANG 3.15.2012 at 11:01 AM

Is your member of Congress serving you, or serving himself? Many lawmakers, when they approach retirement, begin negotiating with lobbying firms to receive multimillion dollar salaries after they leave office. In some cases, a Senator or Representative will slip language into a bill or write an earmark that benefits a special interest, and when they leave Congress, a big paycheck is waiting for them from the very same company.

While the process of public officials going to work for lobbying firms is often called the “revolving door,” we think this issue deserves more emphasis and urgency. With members of Congress secretly manipulating the laws we must all live under, and then receiving lavish rewards, so they can live lavish lifestyles, we call that Backdoor Bribery.

Yesterday, we published a report detailing the problem, and revealed that the lawmakers-turned-lobbyists we profiled received up to a 1,452 percent raise on average. Congressman Billy Tauzin (R-LA), for instance, made $158,100 as a lawmaker his last year in office. He went on to make nearly $20 million the next few years as a drug company lobbyist — after he wrote the law in Congress that prevents Medicare from negotiating for lower drug prices for seniors (a rule that costs taxpayers billions). And Backdoor Bribery occurs on both sides of the aisle. It was reported earlier this year that Congressman Bill Delahunt (D-MA) earmarked hundreds of thousands of dollars in special projects before retiring, then began a lobbying job that counts his earmark recipients as clients.

Members of Congress owe their loyalty to the people they represent, not to big companies offering them future riches. We need to stand up against this abuse of our democracy.

Today, the editors of Republic Report are sending a letter to the 34 members of Congress who have already announced they are retiring this year, asking them to at a minimum disclose to the public if they are currently negotiating with a private interest for a future job. They should make such discussions available on their congressional website, if they are still writing the laws we live under. Take a look at a sample copy of our letter:

Right now, members of Congress officially earn $174,000 a year. Officially. But that's not their real salary. As numerous media reports and first-hand accounts have shown, the way that many elected officials really make money is to secure high-paying lobbying jobs after leaving Congress, often with the very firms or companies for whom they have done legislative favors while still in office.

It's what you might call Backdoor Bribery—and we need your help to stop it.

So for instance, former Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd got a 762% raise after he retired from the Senate to work at the movie industry association.  Based on available information, the average raise for a member of Congress who becomes an influence-peddler is 1452%.

It's so bad that some current members of Congress, whose retirement is still 10 months away, are already negotiating with lobbyists right now for jobs.

This is outrageous. There are 34 current members of Congress who have announced they are leaving office. We're sending a letter to each of them, asking them to tell the public who is offering them jobs and who they are negotiating with. The American people have the right to know: Who are members of Congress really working for?  

Sign the letter here, addressed to the retiring members of Congress, and we'll deliver the petition with your name on it to their offices. Over the course of the next few weeks, we'll be doing follow-up work to get them to tell us who might be offering them backdoor bribes. And forward this email to your friends. Facebook it. Tweet it out.

It's supposed to be our government, not the lobbyists. Let's make it ours. Click here to sign the letter.

Sincerely,

Lee Fang Republic Report