Scapegoat searching
White racists were partially responsible for the shellacking the Democrats took in the midterm elections last week, according to the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus.
"We lost because of ideological differences within the Democratic Party and with our administration," Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio, said, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "We lost because our party has, to some extent, lost white Southerners due in part to the race of our president."
Obama's policies, of course, had nothing to do with it. Neither did black voters, she said, urging people to "find another scapegoat."
"Our community organizations and churches mobilized to encourage early voting opportunities with programs like 'Souls to the Polls,' and African-American activists and state leaders stood ready to combat any instance of voter intimidation or fraud," Fudge said. "Black elected officials crisscrossed the country to discuss the urgency and importance of this election. We phone banked, knocked on doors and held 'Get Out the Vote' rallies. Our losses were not a referendum on African-American political engagement. We did our part, so don't blame us!"
Arkansas togetherness
Like a previous Arkansas governor did for a family member when he left the White House, outgoing Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe will issue a pardon to his son, Kyle, for a felony drug conviction.
"Kids when they're young do stupid stuff," the Democrat said. "He was no different. Liked to have broken his mother's heart. His mother and I were stereotypical parents from the different end of the spectrum. She was the enabler that tried to fix everything. I was the nuclear bomb thrower that thought you ought to shoot him. Somewhere between those two extremes was probably the right thing to do."
The younger Beebe in 2003 was convicted of possession of a controlled substance, a class C felony. He was placed on probation, which he completed in 2006, according to a release by the Arkansas Parole Board. His case and that of nine others with similar charges were recommended for gubernatorial pardons.
In his letter requesting a pardon from his father, Beebe wrote, "At the time of my arrest I was living in a fantasy world, not reality. I was young and dumb. At that time in my life I felt like I was missing something, and I tried to fill that emptiness by selling drugs."
In 2001, when he was leaving the White House, President Bill Clinton pardoned his half brother, Roger, for drug charges.
I knew him before I didn't know him
As Democrats attempt to slink away from Jonathan Gruber, one of the Obamacare architects who was revealed on videos that surfaced last week saying the administration had to lie about the bill in order to get it passed, United States House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is joining them.
"I don't know who he is," she said to a reporter. "He didn't help write our bill.
"So, with all due respect to your question, you have a person who wasn't writing our bill, commenting on what was going on when we were writing the bill, who has withdrawn some of the statements that he made," Pelosi added. "So let's put him aside."
If only the American people could have put the bill aside.
The problem for Pelosi was, her congressional office had cited analyses from Gruber -- who is credited with writing parts of the bill -- in referring to the Affordable Care Act.
A spokesman for the congresswoman later tried to walk back the remarks, saying the San Francisco liberal meant that she didn't "know who he is," not that she has "never heard of him."
When in doubt, tax it
One House Democrat has just the solution for the desire she and a small band of Democrats have for convincing the Washington Redskins to change their nickname -- take away the National Football League's tax-exempt status.
Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., and some other Democrats believe the nickname is a racial slur and persuaded the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office earlier this year to give an initial, though appealable, ruling that the team can't trademark its own name because it's racially insensitive. She also has asked the Federal Communications Commission to prevent anyone from naming the team during a broadcast.
"Relief from taxes should no longer be given to a league that profits from the continued use of a racial slur, which degrades some Americans," she said.
Unfortunately, Holmes' idea about the NFL's tax-exempt status is akin to a classroom teacher's habit of punishing a room full of students for the actions of one or two. Because while the league office does not pay taxes, the Redskins and all other NFL teams do.