Showing posts with label government. Show all posts
Showing posts with label government. Show all posts

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Mitch McConnell Forced by Tea Party to Vote For Debt Limit

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The House quietly voted to raise the debt limit this week and it signals that at least some of the right-wing extremists realize they need to avoid more lose-lose situations no matter what their die-hard convictions. Creating false emergencies over the economy of the United States and watching the Stock Market fall isn't a good idea in an election year. But apparently Senator Ted Cruz didn't get the memo, and immediately vowed to filibuster the whole thing again. His rabble-rousing in the Senate created drama yesterday when suddenly there weren't enough votes to pass what should have been a no-brainer vote to raise the debt limit.

In the end, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was pushed by his own right-wing contingency to vote "Aye" on the Debt Limit bill, creating a no-win situation for him. This year he is facing not only a Tea Party opponent in the Kentucky Republican Primary, but also a really strong threat in Alison Lundergan Grimes, his Democratic adversary. He has to appeal to the independents in order to save his bacon, but the Tea Party doesn't care about that - they see him as a RINO (Republican in Name Only) because very occasionally he shows signs of sanity. So of course they jumped on him when this vote came down.

According to this video paid for by Jim DeMint's Heritage Foundation, all this bipartisanship just shows that McConnell is a damned librul' BULLY, just like the IRS and Obama. How dare he expect that Senate Conservatives would ever vote for something that might help the country!











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From the New Yorker
There was a rare outbreak of sanity in the Grand Old Party on Tuesday, when Speaker John Boehner and a group of his allies joined with the Democrats to approve a raise in the debt ceiling without any preconditions, thereby avoiding the risk of the United States defaulting on its financial obligations. Never fear, though: the outbreak has been contained, and there doesn’t seem to be any danger of contagion.
By Wednesday morning, Senator Ted Cruz, the Texan firebrand, appeared to threaten to filibuster a Senate vote on the debt ceiling, and the Tea Partiers, gold bugs, Randians, birthers, anti-government bootboys, and other assorted wing nuts that make up a big part of the party’s base were happily ranting on about Boehner’s perfidy. If there’s one thing your typical Republican activist likes more than berating President Obama and the Democrats it’s attacking traitors and yellowbellies in his (or her) own ranks, and, once again, the long-suffering Speaker of the House is the primary target.

From WSJ
The drama came as the Senate began consideration of a suspension of the federal borrowing limit. The tension was not on the debt-ceiling vote itself, but on a procedural move that requires 60 senators to vote yes. That meant the chamber’s 55 Democrats needed five Republicans to move forward.
But who would the five Republicans be?
That question was apparently not answered in advance, and it ended up being settled out in the open, on the Senate floor.
. . . Before long, the doors to the Republican cloakroom swung open and a phalanx of Republicans marched down the aisle to the well of the Senate to switch their votes to Yes, including Sens. John Thune of South Dakota, John McCain of Arizona, Jeff Flake of Arizona and Orrin Hatch of Utah.
The tally hit 67. Mr. McConnell shook hands with Ms. Murkowski. Mr. Hatch hugged Sen. Susan Collins (R., Maine), who had also voted “yes.” Relief spread as the risk of a market-rattling defeat of the bill lifted.

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It should have been a very easy vote. In my view every Senate Republican should have stood together and said what every single one of us tells our constituents back home, which is that we will not go along with raising the debt ceiling while doing nothing to fix the underlying out of control spending problem.
~ Senator Ted Cruz R-Texas

Kentucky and America can literally no longer afford such financially reckless behavior from the likes of Mitch McConnell.
~ Matt Bevin, McConnell's GOP opponent in Kentucky Senate race

GOP Tea Party Anger Directed at Mitch:















Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Buffoonish Boehner Bluffs and Blunders

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Previous Related Posts:
Week Two of GOP Shutdown ~ They Got Nothing
Shutdown Continues with GOP Derp Dissonance Follies (Updated)
Threat Level Midnight ~ Tea Party Terrorists Shut Down the Government

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From ABC ~ Speaker John Boehner on This Week with George Stphanopoulos
BOEHNER: But I and my members decided the threat of Obamacare and what was happening was so important that it was time for us to take a stand. And we took a stand.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Did you decide it or was it decided for you?

BOEHNER: I, working with my members, decided to do this in a unified way. George, I have 233 Republicans in the House. And you've never seen a more dedicated group of people who are thoroughly concerned about the future of our country. They believe that Obamacare, all these regulations coming out of the administration, are threatening the future for our kids and our grandkids. It is time for us to stand and fight.

. . . BOEHNER: We're not going to pass a clean debt limit increase.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Under no circumstances?

BOEHNER: I told the president, there's no way we're going to pass one. The votes are not in the House to pass a clean debt limit. And the president is risking default by not having a conversation with us.

. . . STEPHANOPOULOS: So the clock is ticking on October 17th. You're not going to put that bill on the floor?

BOEHNER: I want to deal with our underlying problem.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Yes or no, would you put that bill on the floor?

BOEHNER: I don't want the United States to default on its debt. But I'm not going to raise the debt limit without a serious conversation about dealing with problems that are driving the debt up. It would be irresponsible of me to do this.

. . . STEPHANOPOULOS: You see, I'm not hearing much new here this morning. I don't think the country is hearing much new here this morning from either the president or from you and House Republicans. How is this going to end?

BOEHNER: George, it's going to end when the president decides they'll allow Harry Reid to talk to me, or allow Patty Murray to talk to Paul Ryan. The president just can't sit there and say, I'm not going to negotiate.




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If Boehner says there are not enough votes, then they should prove it. Hold a vote. Call a vote right now and let’s see what happens.
~ President Obama





Speaker Boehner has a credibility problem.
From refusing to let the House vote on a bill that was his idea in the first place, to decrying health-care subsidies for members of Congress and staff that he worked for months to preserve, to stating that the House doesn't have the votes to pass a clean CR at current spending levels, there is now a consistent pattern of Speaker Boehner saying things that fly in the face of the facts or stand at odds with his past actions.
Americans across the country are suffering because Speaker Boehner refuses to come to grips with reality. Today, Speaker Boehner should stop the games and let the House vote on the Senate's clean CR so that the entire federal government can re-open within twenty-four hours.
~ Adam Jentleson, Spokesperson for Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid

If Boehner let a clean funding bill hit the House floor, “it would probably get 300 votes,” New York Representative Peter King, a Republican who has been critical of the party’s shutdown strategy, told TIME last week. “Two thirds of Republicans privately want a clean [bill to fund the government].”
~ Time

Boehner refuses to call that vote, because he knows he would lose. The bill would pass, the hostage-taking by his Tea Party faction would be over, and the Tea Party extremists would hold him responsible.
Boehner's refusal to call a vote on the floor of the House is all that is keeping the government closed. It is also the only thing that threatens the first default by the U.S. government in American history -- an act that could have a catastrophic effect on the financial system and the world economy.
In the end, the question is whether John Boehner is more concerned about being terrorized by a Tea Party minority or having a legacy as the one man who single handedly caused a world wide economic disaster. If he cares about this country, his choice should be obvious.
~ Robert Cramer on Huffington Post

Many people seem perplexed by the transformation of the G.O.P. into the political equivalent of the Keystone Kops — the Boehner Bunglers? Republican elders, many of whom have been in denial about their party’s radicalization, seem especially startled. But all of this was predictable.
It has been obvious for years that the modern Republican Party is no longer capable of thinking seriously about policy. Whether the issue is climate change or inflation, party members believe what they want to believe, and any contrary evidence is dismissed as a hoax, the product of vast liberal conspiracies.
. . . even the shock of electoral defeat wasn’t enough to burst the G.O.P. bubble; it’s still a party dominated by wishful thinking, and all but impervious to inconvenient facts. And now that party’s leaders have bungled themselves into a corner.
~ Paul Krugman in NYT












Friday, October 4, 2013

Shutdown Continues with GOP Derp Dissonance Follies ~ Updated

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Cognitive Dissonance: "the feeling of uncomfortable tension which comes from holding two conflicting thoughts in the mind at the same time."

I Need My Paycheck, And You Don't

. . . you know what? I've got a nice house and a kid in college, and I'll tell you we cannot handle it. Giving our paycheck away when you still worked and earned it? That's just not going to fly.
~ Rep. Lee Terry, R-Nebraska

I'm working. Anybody else who is in my office is being paid if they're working.
~ Senator Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa

I need my paycheck. That's the bottom line. I understand that there may be some other members who are deferring their paychecks, and I think that's admirable. I'm not in that position.
~ Representative Renee Ellmers R-North Carolina after helping to shut down the American Government and putting 800,000 workers on unpaid furlough

Update
Update 2:45 p.m.: In response to the firestorm surrounding her controversial paycheck comments, Rep. Renee Ellmers has just released a statement saying she has asked that her paycheck be withheld for the duration of the shutdown.
In her letter to the House Chief Administrative Officer, Ellmers insists she was unaware that Congress was still getting paid during the shutdown — a claim that clearly contradicts her earlier remarks.
~ Via Gawker







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Respect on a Ritz Cracker, or Something

From an MSNBC Interview with RNC Chairman Reince Priebus
Reince Priebus: The President won't negotiate with any Republican in office. I mean, he has redefined what being the "party of no" is all about.
Thomas Roberts: Reince, with all due respect - and if you're looking at the long game here -
Reince Priebus: All due respect, I like this. Keep it coming, Thomas.
Thomas Roberts: . . . Do you support the Tea Party tactics of what they're doing in the House right now? And do you fear that's going to have consequences come 2014?
Reince Priebus: It's not Tea Party tactics. This is what the American People want. They don't want Obamacare. They want a government that's open. And they have a President that refuses to lead.
. . .
Thomas Roberts: But does the Constitution really allow the Republican Party to take the government hostage and to shut it down?
Reince Priebus: (laughing) Does the Constitution allow for a bill to become a law? Is that what you're asking?
Thomas Roberts: No - the tactic - and we don't need a civics lesson here because I can give you a civics lesson, Reince -
Reince Priebus: I remember Saturday morning cartoons, how a bill becomes a law. Maybe you should watch it.
Thomas Roberts: Thank you so much, Reince. With all due respect.
Reince Priebus: All due respect, right.










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We're not going to be disrespected. We have to get something out of this. And I don't know what that even is.
~ Rep. Marlin Stutzman R-Indiana

Think about that. You have already gotten the opportunity to serve the American people. There's no higher honor than that. So the American people aren't in the mood to give you a goodie bag to go with it.
~ President Obama, referring to Marlin Stutzman's statement

Yesterday, I carelessly misrepresented the ongoing budget debate and Speaker (John) Boehner’s work on behalf of the American people. Despite my remarks, it’s clear that the American people want both parties to come to the table to reopen the government, tackle this nation’s debt crisis, and stop Obamacare’s pain.
~ Rep. Stutzman Rebutting his own Statement















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Be Ashamed of the Shutdown that I Caused

President Obama is so fixated on forcing Obamacare on the American people that he's even willing to deny World War II veterans the right to access the memorial they have earned through their heroic service.
This scenario encapsulates the bigger problem in Washington. President Obama is so set on imposing his destructive, far-left ideology that his government is literally barricading World War II veterans out of their memorial and blocking funding to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
~ Senator Ted Cruz

First This:
This is about the happiest I've seen members in a long time, because we see we are starting to win this dialogue on a national level.
~ Michele Bachmann on Fox News, thrilled with the House Shutdown
Then That:
They're not gonna lock you up, brother. They're going to have to get through me first.
~ Rep. Michele Bachmann R-Minnesota to WWII Veterans waiting to view the War Memorial, which was closed due to the House Government Shutdown





Some idiot in the government sent goons out there to set up barricades so they couldn't see the monument. People had to spend hours setting up barricades where there are never barricades, to prevent people from seeing the World War II monument, because they're trying to play a charade.
~ Senator Rand Paul to Sean Hannity on Fox News

There is no reason for this to be closed, this was done to create pain for those who saved our country. The Lincoln Memorial wasn't even closed in '95, people intentionally did this. Next thing you know they're going to put drapes on Mount Rushmore
~ Rep. Louie Gohmert R-Texas

The Obama administration has decided they want to make the government shutdown as painful as possible, even taking the unnecessary step of keeping the Greatest Generation away from a monument built in their honor. That’s not right, and it’s not fair. So the RNC has put aside enough money to hire five security personnel to keep this memorial open to veterans and visitors. Ideally, I’d hope to hire furloughed employees for this job.
~ Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus

They must believe P.T. Barnum ~ 'there's a sucker born every minute.' . . . How can you lose to such political lightweights as this guy (Reince Priebus)? ... These Puppetoons.
~ Chris Matthews of MSNBC on Hardball





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Let's Shout at Innocent Public Servants

NBC Washington ~ Congressman Randy Randy Neugebauer R-TX vs. DC Park Ranger
"How do you look at them and... deny them access?" said Neugebauer. He, with most House Republicans, had voted early Sunday morning to pass a funding measure that would delay the Affordable Care Act, a vote that set up a showdown with the Senate and President Barack Obama. With the parties unable to agree on how to fund the federal government, non-essential government functions shut down Tuesday.

"It's difficult," responded the Park Service employee.
"Well, it should be difficult," replied the congressman, who was carrying a small American flag in his breast pocket.
"It is difficult," responded the Park Service employee. "I'm sorry, sir."
"The Park Service should be ashamed of themselves," the congressman said.
"I'm not ashamed," replied the ranger.



At that point, a crowd of onlookers got involved. "Ask those questions of the people who aren't passing the budget," shouted a voice from the crowd. "That's who you need to ask these questions to."
"This woman is doing her job, just like me," shouted another. "I'm a 30-year federal veteran -- I'm out of work."
The man, wearing a bicycle helmet, at this point was face to face with the congressman.
"Well, the reason you are is because Mr. Reid decided to shut down the government," responded Neugebauer, referring to the top Senate Democrat.
"No, it's because the government won't do its job and pass a budget," the bicyclist responded.

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Just saw the video of you badgering the park ranger at the mall for not letting vets in to see the memorial. I guess they're right when they say everything's bigger in Texas because you sir a one giant douchebag. She was doing her job because congress can't do its job.
~ Brian R. on Rep. Neugebauer's Facebook Page

I do not understand how you can berate a Park Ranger who was forced to turn WWII vets away as a result of the government shut-down, and then do a total about-face and proclaim in an interview that you will keep the shut down going for "as long as it takes."
~ Sylvia W. on Rep. Neugebauer's Facebook Page

They WERE letting the veterans in! As well they should have. Then %*&^$! shows up and harasses the ranger? What in the world is happening here?????
~ Charlie G. on Rep. Neugebauer's Facebook Page

Shame on you. The park ranger you badgered stood there taking your abuse for just doing her job, but you ran like a coward when confronted by the furloughed employee who called you out for not doing yours. Michelle Bachman announces her delight at shutting down the government, then bemoans the WWII memorial shutdown. Tea party Republicans are a disgrace.
~ Jackie S. on Rep. Neugebauer's Facebook Page







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Thursday, January 24, 2013

Ted Nugent is Revolting

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Previous Posts:

Draft-Dodger, Gun Nut and Rocker Ted Nugent, calling for armed Revolution against President Obama
I’m part of a very great experiment in self-government where we the people determine our own pursuit of happiness and our own individual freedom and liberty, not to be confused with the Barack Obama gang who believes in we the sheeple and actually is attempting to re-implement the tyranny of King George that we escaped from in 1776.

If you want another Concord Bridge, I got some buddies.

Here is what's wrong with America today. We have a president, and everybody better write this down, and memorize this. The president of the United States goes to the Vietnam Memorial Wall and pretends to honor 58,000 American heroes who died fighting communism and then he hires, appoints and associates with communists. He pretends to pay honor to men who died fighting communism, and then he hangs out with, hires and appoints communists.

He is an evil dangerous man who hates America and hates freedom. And we need to fix this as soon as possible.
~










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None of those wild animals he's so proud of shooting with high powered rifles were shooting back. The American military has 'real' assault rifles and machine guns, not to mention attack helicopters, etc... The right wing cowards wouldn't stand a chance.
~ Dennis W. on Alan Colmes Liberaland

Do we have to go over this again? Nugent and his buddies would be utterly wiped out. Full stop. Actually, they might as well be threatening to ride velociraptors into the White House, armed with magic wands and accompanied by Space Monkey Gleek. It’s just that ridiculous. The whole notion of an armed revolt and secession from the United States failed miserably in 1865, and the revolutionaries at that time were headed by skilled West Point commanders like JEB Stuart and Robert E. Lee who directed massive armies. These gun nutjobs today have — who? — octogenarian D-list electric guitar player Ted Nugent and a gaggle of his redneck disciples. Good luck, boys.
~ Bob Cesca on The Daily Banter

Ted Nugent is making a threat to the President and no one is talking about it because they continue to undervalue the life of a Black person. This man would be made an example of and lock in jail if the President was white. He would be afraid to make such threats if that was the case. So he feels as though no one will do anything to him. He can rile up as many crazies as he wants and not be punish for it. This man along with Donald Trump and Shawn Hannity is the face of racism.
~ 9blackdog on The Daily Banter

The Nuge's politics are just like his music. He only knows one song, and he'll play it at max volume every time he gets a chance.
~ Heather on Seattle Post-Intelligencer

If Ted Nugent has a concealed carry permit, it needs to be REVOKED NOW!
~ Irvman on Huff Post

I hate that word, 'sheeple'. Right up there with 'blood and treasure', 'redonculous', 'bromance', and 'Nugent said'.
~ Rudian Twit on Huff Post

The "buddies" remark suggests conspiracy. Maybe time for another visit by the Secret Service?
~ theneb on Media Matters

Ted's ego has just gotten so big that he thinks his authority overrides that of the President just because by his own insane standards Ted is a "real" American and Obama somehow isn't.
~ Steve N. on Media Matters



Thursday, October 4, 2012

Mitt Romney Threatens to Fire Big Bird in PBS Debate

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Via @pollybeam













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Friday, August 10, 2012

Mitt Happens on Iowa Farm

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From Opposing Views
GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney recently toured a cornfield in Des Moines, Iowa, to see the effects of the Midwest drought.
Romney's guide was corn and soybean farmer LeMar Koethe, who wants the government to stay out of farming, except for the multimillion dollar farm bill, which includes subsidies for farmers.
Koethe told the Des Moines Register: “The people know what to do on their own. Just let them do it.”
Koethe did not say exactly how the government was preventing people from farming.
The Des Moines Register reports that Koethe owns 54 farms and EWG Farm Subsidies reports that Koethe received $133,000 in subsidies from 1995-2001.


Old Mitt-Donald Visits A Farm by Vita Brevis on Daily Kos

Farmer's full of dough.
So Mittens, in another attempt to prove his regular Joe bona-fides, decides to visit an Iowa farm. With so many farmers suffering from this year's drought ( that of course isn't caused by any global climate change) RMoney had to show that he cares. They installed a brand new empathy chip just for the occasion.
Of course, Romney being Romney couldn't visit just any old farm.
Romney Visits Iowa "Farmer" Who Is Also A Millionaire Real Estate Mogul With A Spaceship House And Personal Car Wash

Iowa Farmer's Spaceship House ~ Not Exactly American Gothic
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But really, Romney? Out of the hundreds of thousands of farmers being impacted by the drought — many of them family farmers struggling to keep their heads above water — you had to meet the millionaire real estate mogul who lives in a spaceship house with an underground car wash and recreation center?
~ Think Progress

. . . to Romney, and apparently to his clueless advisers, Lemar Koethe probably rates as a typical farmer. And getting out there in his khakis between the stunted rows of corn probably convinced him he was getting the real story about just how hard some Americans have it.
~ Meteor Blades on Daily Kos

Oh come on . . . What real farmer doesn't have a jacuzzi in every room, a latte maker in each barn, and a full time horse braiding staff? /snark
~ comment by kovie on Daily Kos

Romney needs a clue-by-four upside his head
~ comment by Senor Unoball on Daily Kos

Just add his farm photo op to the myriad of other botched attempts to look normal. Just think "Hardware Store, Grocery Store, Nascar, Laundry (in Mom jeans), etc., etc. and another etc. for for future photo ops beginning tomorrow.
~ comment by pamelabrown on Daily Kos

Farm Stuff!
~ comment by Orange County Liberal on Daily Kos

Mitt Romney took what seems like a gratuitous walk through an Iowa corn field today.
~ New York Magazine

Speaking at the local Children of the Corn chapter, I presume.
~ comment by TallRobert in New York Magazine

field of schemes
~ comment by SoSoNice in New York Magazine

"Hmmm, so when plants don't receive dihydrogen monoxide they die. Just like huma...just like me...and you...like us people."
-M Romney
~ "Editor's Choice" comment by Mingusahum in New York Magazine

He owns 54 Iowa farms at an average size of 160 acres, that is 8,640 acres * $10,000/acre= $86.4 Million dollars of farmland. The guy is pretty wealthy!!!!!!!!!!!
~ comment by Richard W. in the Des Moines Register

Romney has no references to agriculture or farming on his campaign website, has no mention of the farm bill in his 59-point plan for jobs and economic growth and is opposing the wind production tax credit. During the Iowa caucuses, he refused to take a position on the farm bill, and he said himself in Council Bluffs that he doesn’t know a lot about agriculture, specifically corn.
~ Obama Spokesperson, Erin Seidler,in the Des Moines Register



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Friday, July 6, 2012

Ted Nugent Blows Civil War Dog Whistle


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Because our legislative, judicial and executive branches of government hold the 10th Amendment in contempt, I’m beginning to wonder if it would have been best had the South won the Civil War. Our Founding Fathers’ concept of limited government is dead
~ Ted Nugent in Washington Times Op-Ed titled "Turncoat Roberts"

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Because slavery was so ennobling.
As a quaint historical lesson, let's put this man in chains and sell his children.
~ comment by Bob Love on Daily Kos

A nasty, insane, raving maniac with spittle on his chin is the face of the GOP.
~ comment by Helen Wheels on Raw Story

Seriously...what would the outrage be like if anyone else wondered if the country would be "better off" if say, Germany had won WWII? Or if Japan had taken Hawaii and the west coast? Oh, wait...they don't much like the west coast, do they? I guess it would've been OK to speculate on that afterall. (snark)
Ted Nugent = treasonous lout
~ comment by koosah on Daily Kos

Excuse me nugget, but I think the Supreme Court just said the healthcare mandate is constitutional. Do you know how this country works? Your support of the long dead South that LOST the civil war is a clear sign of your ignorance and bigotry. If you don't like America, get the hell out of here.
~ comment by user access on Raw Story

He publicly endorsed Mitt Romney who publicly accepted it. Who is paling around with terrorists now? You Abraham Lincoln hating anti-constitution, anti-Declaration of Independence piece of sh**!
~ comment by lover of coffee on Raw Story

Is Ted Nugent an asset or a liability for Mitt Romney's presidential campaign?
~ Headline on Guardian UK

He might get some Neo-Nazis voting for Mitt.
~ comment by mikedow on Guardian UK

Ted Nugent is a stereotypical hick - a great reason for letting the south leave the union - and is thus likely a liability for Romney.
After all, the people who admire him were all going to vote Republican anyway.
Everyone else is either embarrassed or horrified by his hysterical idiocy.
~ comment by WWIIhistorian on Guardian UK

He can carry all the guns he wants, but in a battle of wits he is totally unarmed.
~ comment by ssspitz in Huffington Post