money

 

If you think that political ads are coming at you in greater frequency this year than in previous years, you’re probably right. The amount of money pouring into political campaigns is staggering, and growing ever more so in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United and McCutcheon rulings.

Politico’s Ken Vogel‘s latest book, Big Money: 2.5 Billion Dollars, One Suspicious Vehicle, and a Pimp—on the Trail of the Ultra-Rich Hijacking American Politics tells about the influx of cash into our political system in recent years, the figures behind the figures, and the extreme lengths some go to keep their contributions secret.

Ken joined me on the show this morning, following Jon Stewart’s perfect take-down of the biggest check-writers in politics today, the Koch Brothers, who’ve come on as the newest sponsors of The Daily Show.

Five more days…. then we’ll still have to see those Koch commercials, but at least the political ads will disappear for a year or so.

Today marked the return of the Gliberal Goddesses… it’s GottaLaff, Amy Simon and yours truly, talking about whatever is on our minds the way women actually talk!

Today, we began with the video that’s gone extremely viral of a woman walking through the streets of NYC…

Then we marveled that Fox can remain on the air with idiots like these on their shows

Of course, we wondered what it would be like if the tables were turned. Thanks to Funny or Die, we don’t have to wonder any longer…

Nicely done!

A few other things… Chris Christie is showing his true colors again as the world’s biggest asshole.

And I have to give a shout-out to my friend Bob Ney. The former Congressman who got caught up in the Jack Abramoff scandal and came out the other side as a much better man called John Boehner out as the hypocrite he is.

In Victoria Jones’ News Notes today, she writes about The Great Obama, Bibi “Chicken$hit” Flap:

• The feathers are flying after anonymous WH criticism of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. The Obama admin is on the defensive (again) and there are congressional demands – bipartisan – for the president to repudiate the remarks (Atlantic, Politico, Hill, WaPo, Fox, Haaretz, NYT, CNN, AP, TRNS, me)

• The Atlantic quoted an unidentified admin official saying Netanyahu is a “chicken$hit” and a “coward” who’s “got no guts” and, referring to Iran, is “scared to launch wars.” “The bad thing about him is that he won’t do anything to reach an accommodation with the Palestinians or with the Sunni Arab states.”
She followed that up with Boehner Chimes In – Also An Offender

• Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) jumped in: “The president sets the tone for his admin. He either condones the profanity and disrespect used by the most senior members of his admin, or he does not. It is time for him to get his house in order and tell the people that can’t muster professionalism that it is time to move on.”
• Earnest said it was “a little rich to have a lecture in profanity from the Speaker of the House,” noting Boehner’s “penchant for using some pretty salty language himself.” Earnest said he didn’t know who had made the comments to the Atlantic, and that he doubted Obama knew
• A report by ABC News in 2008 quoted a Miami University newspaper as saying Boehner suggested Obama was a “chicken$hit” for voting “present” while a member of the Illinois legislature. “Green means ‘yes,’ red means ‘no,’ and yellow means you’re a chicken$hit.” (Boehner’s known for swearing like a trooper)
Well, Bob Ney – who knows Boehner all too well – posted this to Boehner’s Facebook page in response:
I understand the issue about working with respect between the two Countries, but really Speaker- “condones profanity” You have the foulest mouth on the Hill, everyone knows it. Oh, I know, I am a felon, a liar, and sad–but hundreds of non felons, non liars and non sad people have heard you say the F word like it is your job- Oh sorry , it is your job to F up the ability to really do something good for the American people! Everything I said in my book was true about you, you know it, D.C. knows it. I may be a felon, but I look in the mirror and I am free, you look in the mirror and you still see the most pathetic leader in American history having a legacy of doing zero. Please don’t cry over this!
After reading that, you’ll probably want to read Bob’s book, Sideswiped: Lessons Learned Courtesy of the Hitmen of Capital Hill – seriously. It’s great reading!
Tomorrow, we’ll wrap up the week with Lisa Graves of the Center for Media & Democracy, the people who brought us ALEC Exposed and more. And we’ll segue into the weekend with my interview with Joan Osborne from 1995, as her first album had just been released… radio or not!