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You are here: Home / That Didn’t Take Long

That Didn’t Take Long

by John Cole|  August 9, 20116:49 pm| 149 Comments

This post is in: Assholes, Both Sides Do It!, Our Failed Media Experiment, Our Failed Political Establishment, Serenity Now!

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So Hardball had a segment tonight called “Swiftboat 2.0” in which David Brody “made the connection” for us between calling Romney weird and calling him a Mormon.

See how this works? Ben Smith and JMart tell everyone that no one on team Obama made any mention of religion, but secretly, they (Ben and JMART) think it is about religion. A few hours later, and the conventional wisdom in the beltway is that Team Obama is attacking Romney for being a Mormon, and equating it to the ugly, prolonged, and still onging campaign to smear John Kerry.

And the Obama team has said NOTHING. Just Ben Smith and the Politico hacks think that it is what it is about. But that’s enough. Meanwhile, the Romney campaign doesn’t even need codetalkers like Smith and Martin- they just go all in, and the Politico thinks nothing of it. Those aren’t dog whistles, those are steam boat whistles.

And then the willing assist from the true progressives willing to do whatever is necessary to get someone (ANYONE) to listen to them.

I need to lose weight and start working out before 2012 because I am going to stroke out.

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Previous Post: « Stealing Bachmann’s ‘Righteous’ Thunder
Next Post: Americans, Not Completely Fucking Stupid »

Reader Interactions

149Comments

  1. 1.

    OzoneR

    August 9, 2011 at 6:52 pm

    But I thought the media was going to respect and fall to its knees over tough Obama.

    You mean to tell me they were going to kneecap him if he fought?

    hoocoodanode?

    At least the DFH feel good, right?

  2. 2.

    Violet

    August 9, 2011 at 6:53 pm

    How’s your finger? Still bleeding?

    Trying to read your post made my head spin. These people really need to get out more and experience life. I suggest they take a nice trip to some of the less affluent areas in England. Very bracing, I hear.

  3. 3.

    jl

    August 9, 2011 at 6:54 pm

    Cole forgot to mention the lengthy follow up analysis of how Obama is ‘hapless’ for allowing himself to be put in this position, and also too, it’s GNFR.

    How could Cole forget that bit? Commenters point that out every time a Tunch/Rosie plot comes off.

    But as applied to Obama, it is unfair! That is clear.

  4. 4.

    Joseph Nobles

    August 9, 2011 at 6:54 pm

    Obama himself has been at Dover all day while the remains of the Navy seals came in.

  5. 5.

    piratedan

    August 9, 2011 at 6:55 pm

    well all we need now is for Charles Lane to swing by and tell us all how he thinks Gabrielle Giffords feels about this and how disappointed she must be that Obama has decided to make this personal… when did the AV club take out the journos, because all we get is projection, projection, projection.

  6. 6.

    4tehlulz

    August 9, 2011 at 6:56 pm

    @Joseph Nobles: Why does Politico hate the troops?

  7. 7.

    BGinCHI

    August 9, 2011 at 6:57 pm

    How the fuck can you “call” him a Mormon.

    He is a Mormon. Only people who think that’s wrong can call it an insult. Shouldn’t the burden of proof be on them?

    This is fucking insane.

  8. 8.

    fordpowers

    August 9, 2011 at 6:57 pm

    im done with politics this week/month/year
    FUCK ALL OF THEM.

    More kitty/puppy pictures please and thanks.

  9. 9.

    birthmarker

    August 9, 2011 at 6:57 pm

    I think the whole thing has been set up by the Romney camp as a pre-emptive strike. It will go on and on. I see a Time/Newsweek cover along the line of, “Religion–Is it Fair Game in Politics?”

    The “aligned” is so funny. That could be someone you sat next to on a bus.

    Kos covers this too at GOS.

  10. 10.

    NR

    August 9, 2011 at 6:58 pm

    @OzoneR: I don’t recall anyone ever saying that the media would respect Obama if he fought. The idea was always that voters would respect Obama if he fought for them.

    Of course, there’s a big difference between fighting to save working people and fighting to save himself. Character attacks on Romney would fall into the latter category.

    That said, the idea that Obama is going after Romney’s religion seems to be unmitigated bullshit. But I guess that’s what passes for “news” over at Politico.

  11. 11.

    Jenny

    August 9, 2011 at 6:58 pm

    It was funny as hell.

    I didn’t know Mormons reject Jesus Christ as the Savior. Holy Cow. That will go over well with southern primary voters.

  12. 12.

    John Puma

    August 9, 2011 at 6:58 pm

    A suggestion: FORGET the weird stuff and the Mormon stuff.

    Do REPEAT, over and over, again the story of Romney’s career by which he became very wealthy destroying the jobs of Americans!!!

  13. 13.

    jwb

    August 9, 2011 at 6:59 pm

    It’s been a long time since I’ve seen John go on a rant like this. His twitterfeed has been burning up Ben Smith.

  14. 14.

    Captain Haddock

    August 9, 2011 at 6:59 pm

    Listen, we let the darkey have his turn – let’s stop being babies and give the ball back to White Daddy now. OK? Thanks.

  15. 15.

    permazorch

    August 9, 2011 at 6:59 pm

    People, calm down, please!
    The Onion will make this all clear.

    Also, God(s) is/are weird. It’s a well-known fact, if it/they do(es) exist.

  16. 16.

    BGinCHI

    August 9, 2011 at 7:00 pm

    @birthmarker: Jesus fucking christ, the entirety of the right, except for maybe 2 people, have been calling BO a “Muslim” as if that were an automatic insult. And that’s with no evidence.

    WTF?

    Am I dreaming? Wake me from this fucking nightmare. Seriously, the media is WORSE than the GOP. They CHOOSE to do this shit.

  17. 17.

    TenguPhule

    August 9, 2011 at 7:00 pm

    A Reign of Terror on the Corporate Plugs sounds better every single day.

  18. 18.

    Ben Cisco

    August 9, 2011 at 7:00 pm

    Dude, that’s twice today. Come on, man!
    __
    You knew Tweety was going to be all over that BS as soon as you read it this morning; probably pitched a tent at his desk all day waiting for airtime. Only relief you’re going to get on this one is if either LOD, Olbermann, or Rachel smacks this crap down – and out of the three, the only one I’d take the over/under on right now is LOD.
    __
    You need to start ignoring at least some of the dumbest of this stuff before you stroke out.

  19. 19.

    jl

    August 9, 2011 at 7:01 pm

    Also too, Matthews cannot help from falling into ‘clown’ mode every other day, can he?

    Lemme see, stock market problems he was pissing his pants and raving about the other day, riots in England, SuperCongress! and the budget…. double dip…

    And Matthews devotes a segment to this nonsense.

    These famous big name TV talking heads. I am almost as old as they are, but to me the seem like out of it retro laughing stock side kicks from old sit coms. Except most of them have unpleasant psych and emo (and smarts) issues that would not be acceptable for a recurring role in an old sitcom. Or even the Simpsons. Maybe something like South Park, they would fit in.

  20. 20.

    Rick Massimo

    August 9, 2011 at 7:01 pm

    What’s gonna stroke me out is the every-other-year Village conventinoal wisdom that any Democrat who actually thinks they deserve elected office, and dares to point out that maybe the Republican guy doesn’t, is a certifiable sociopathic ego case. Because obviously, you should just resign when All The People Who Count disapprove of you. Which they always do.

    P.S.: All day I’ve been seeing these “Is Rush Limbaugh doing a good job?” and “Is Sarah Palin doing a good job?” ads, and I’d be tempted to click on them if I thought that once I got there there’d be an opportunity to ask the question “good job at WHAT?”

  21. 21.

    Dennis SGMM

    August 9, 2011 at 7:02 pm

    Gee, no one ever, ever, questioned JFK’s fitness to be president because he was a Catholic. No Republican ever suggested that Kennedy would be “Under orders from the Pope.”

    Never happened.

  22. 22.

    seanindc

    August 9, 2011 at 7:02 pm

    it will always end up about religion – quite bein a pussy. Mormons are crazy. Full Stop.

  23. 23.

    jwb

    August 9, 2011 at 7:03 pm

    @BGinCHI: Yes, the media does choose to do this. In fact, you might even say they are paid to do this. I’ll add this claim: the media is in fact very good at what they are paid to do. They are owned by and playing for the other side. The sooner we accept that fact and stop pretending like they are neutral participants, the better off we’ll be.

  24. 24.

    Cacti

    August 9, 2011 at 7:03 pm

    Again, Mormonism is weird.

    It took the LDS church until 1978 to decide that persons of African ancestry weren’t second class children of Mormon god, and they followed the one drop rule at that. Any African ancestry at all, and you couldn’t hold the Mormon priesthood.

    Dark skin is a sign of being cursed and disfavored by Mormon god. While being white is tantamount to being “delightsome”. It’s a theme woven throughout the Book of Mormon, the holiest of LDS scripture.

  25. 25.

    Derf

    August 9, 2011 at 7:04 pm

    Nothing to say about the Dow up +430 today?

    Shocking…..pffft!

  26. 26.

    wrb

    August 9, 2011 at 7:07 pm

    Angry Christian populists will support the Mormon Wall Street fund manager over the Muslim community organizer. Bill Ayers.

  27. 27.

    ABL

    August 9, 2011 at 7:07 pm

    It gives everyone a pass on the racism:

    TAR BABY OBAMA HATES MORMONS!! What?! You’re calling me racist? DIDN’T YOU JUST HEAR WHAT I SAID ABOUT OBAMA HATING MORMONS FOR BEING WEIRD AND THAT OTHER STUFF?! WHY DO YOU HATE MORMONS?!!

    and so on…

  28. 28.

    Chyron HR

    August 9, 2011 at 7:08 pm

    Swiftboat 2.0

    “This time, it’s personal we disapprove.”

  29. 29.

    lacp

    August 9, 2011 at 7:09 pm

    @Derf: Mormonism makes the stock market go up? Who knew?

  30. 30.

    birthmarker

    August 9, 2011 at 7:09 pm

    @BGinCHI: The media is worse, because they are supposed to be the watchdog, with an important role to play in our democracy.

    It is a crying shame.

  31. 31.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    August 9, 2011 at 7:10 pm

    @jwb:

    And Ben Smith is now responding. This should be fun. I have a glass of wine and a can of boiled peanuts. I am set for the night.

  32. 32.

    Reality Check

    August 9, 2011 at 7:10 pm

    The race is now between Romney, Perry, and Pawlenty.

  33. 33.

    TenguPhule

    August 9, 2011 at 7:10 pm

    Nothing to say about the Dow up +430 today?

    Unless you’re a day trader, this dead cat bounce means nothing for buy and hold.

  34. 34.

    JPL

    August 9, 2011 at 7:10 pm

    Does anyone watch Chris? shoulda coulda woulda

    BTW..I’m not happy with the pres coddling folks while the country is going up in flames…………. sorry wrong country.
    EDIT I do hope that those who lost loved ones find comfort.

  35. 35.

    jwb

    August 9, 2011 at 7:11 pm

    Cole scored a direct hit on Ben Smith in the Twitter battle.

  36. 36.

    BGinCHI

    August 9, 2011 at 7:11 pm

    @Reality Check: Wow, you’re smarter than a 5th grader.

    /sorry kids

  37. 37.

    MikeBoyScout

    August 9, 2011 at 7:11 pm

    Romney is an unqualified ass no matter which version of the Spaghetti Monster he believes rules his meatballs.

    So, stfu.

  38. 38.

    Rick Massimo

    August 9, 2011 at 7:11 pm

    @John Puma: Yeah, well, that’s something that Axelrod actually SAID in the Politico story. But that isn’t making the rounds of the talk shows because it’s potentially damaging to a Republican it’s not nearly as relevant or important as not-even-pretending-to-be-sourced speculation.

  39. 39.

    jl

    August 9, 2011 at 7:12 pm

    @34 JPL I’ll watch a short clip on the ‘puter intertubes if it’s a real train wreck.

  40. 40.

    Jenny

    August 9, 2011 at 7:12 pm

    Jonathan Martin, a senior political writer at the Politico, jumped from Congress, where he served as a Republican press secretary

    Yet, if you go to Martin’s official bio on Politico, he leaves that out. That’s kind of a big omission from you resume, don’t you think — refusing to mention that he once served as press secretary to Dennis Hastertt and Tom Delay.

  41. 41.

    Reality Check

    August 9, 2011 at 7:12 pm

    Mormonism isn’t any more absurd than any other religion.

  42. 42.

    Comrade Luke

    August 9, 2011 at 7:12 pm

    Other than Hamsher, what “progressive” has said boo about this?

  43. 43.

    jwb

    August 9, 2011 at 7:13 pm

    @Litlebritdifrnt: I know. I loved Ben Smith’s “wtf, who me?” response. Priceless. I think I’ll frame it.

  44. 44.

    General Stuck

    August 9, 2011 at 7:13 pm

    OT

    I am sure this will cause the next FREEKOUT in liberal blogland, but Reid has picked his 3 members of the new commission.

    Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has announced that Sens. John Kerry (D-MA), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Max Baucus (D-MT) will serve a new deficit Super Committee. Murray will be the Democrats’ top member.

    Max Baucus will be the freakout point, though I am not worried about his commitment to entitlements, others are. Sigh

  45. 45.

    jacy

    August 9, 2011 at 7:13 pm

    @fordpowers:

    More kitty/puppy pictures please and thanks.

    Witness the mighty Pete, who can sleep through both politics and the London Riots.

  46. 46.

    JPL

    August 9, 2011 at 7:14 pm

    Oh my goodness Bachmann has a bad cover..That’s what msm is telling me and it’s important because ……………….I don’t know..they didn’t tell me.

  47. 47.

    jwb

    August 9, 2011 at 7:14 pm

    @Reality Check: Pawlenty is a non-factor.

  48. 48.

    Trainrunner

    August 9, 2011 at 7:15 pm

    Ben Smith of Politico just Twatted you, John, basically asking “WYFP?”

    Pass the popcorn.

  49. 49.

    Reality Check

    August 9, 2011 at 7:16 pm

    @jwb:

    Obama was “dead in the water” in August 2007. And remember the Great Fred Thompson Boomlet?

  50. 50.

    jwb

    August 9, 2011 at 7:16 pm

    @Reality Check: Don’t think anyone here thinks it is. The only people who give a fuck about Romney’s religion are Republicans, which is yet another reason this story is so stupid.

  51. 51.

    BGinCHI

    August 9, 2011 at 7:16 pm

    @JPL: Again, how can the right claim “it makes her look crazy”?

    What does crazy look like?

    The right has victimhood down to a science. You don’t even have to accuse them of anything before they cop to it and then blame you.

    If the right were in grade school, it would be on heavy medication.

  52. 52.

    Ben Cisco

    August 9, 2011 at 7:17 pm

    @Jenny:

    Of course, you have to white wash you past if you want to pose as “fair and balanced”.

    Not to mention your “content”. And pretty much everything else.

  53. 53.

    Tom Hilton

    August 9, 2011 at 7:17 pm

    @birthmarker:

    I think the whole thing has been set up by the Romney camp as a pre-emptive strike. It will go on and on. I see a Time/Newsweek cover along the line of, “Religion—Is it Fair Game in Politics?”

    If so, I don’t see it working for him. Romney’s religion problem isn’t with the Villagers who see their reflection in Time & Newsweek; it’s with evangelical fundamentalists who consider the LDS a cult. And the more Romney’s religion is in the news, whatever the angle, the more those yahoos are confronted with it.

  54. 54.

    Hunter Gathers

    August 9, 2011 at 7:17 pm

    Let’s see here, Team Obama didn’t say that Romney contracted AIDS from the corpse of Jesse Helms, therefore, some might say that Romney contracted AIDS from the corpse of Jesse Helms.

  55. 55.

    Dave

    August 9, 2011 at 7:18 pm

    Oh, no! Not vigorous debate in the public sphere!

  56. 56.

    JPL

    August 9, 2011 at 7:18 pm

    @General Stuck: I really really wanted Whitehouse or Brown but I have never been a supporter of Reid who made the decision. I hope he knows something I don’t.

  57. 57.

    Uncle Clarence Thomas

    August 9, 2011 at 7:18 pm

    .
    .
    @ABL:

    It gives everyone a pass on the racism

    Especially PROGRESSIVES! AMIRIGHT?!
    .
    .

  58. 58.

    Professor

    August 9, 2011 at 7:18 pm

    Why do you think that the month August is known as the silly season in the UK. Every shit is reported and commented on as NEWS. Before the riots, some Libertarians wanted to bring back the Death Penalty in UK. They wanted the military to be on the streets of London to quell the disturbances etc. But I think the US jounalists,it you have any left, take the biscuit!

  59. 59.

    Reality Check

    August 9, 2011 at 7:18 pm

    BTW, it takes a lot of balls for Democrats to attack someone’s church when Obama went to that whacked out Sixties horror show every Sunday in Chicago for 25+ years.

  60. 60.

    BGinCHI

    August 9, 2011 at 7:20 pm

    @Reality Check: Fuck off, moran.

  61. 61.

    Jenny

    August 9, 2011 at 7:20 pm

    Jonathan Martin and Ben Smith can cry all they want, but that won’t keep Rick Perry from flaming Romney for rejecting Jesus and it won’t stop Romney from flaming Perry as a closet case.

  62. 62.

    birthmarker

    August 9, 2011 at 7:20 pm

    @Litlebritdifrnt: Dang, I wish I didn’t always wait til 8:30-9 to start drinking!

    Have you ever had boiled peanuts fresh cooked from a side-of-the-road produce stand? UMMM.

  63. 63.

    Dennis SGMM

    August 9, 2011 at 7:20 pm

    @General Stuck:
    You must have yet to be a Democrat when Baucus frittered away months of time on HCR thus killing the momentum for a decent bill. The only entitlements that Baucus supports are subsidies to Big Ag.

  64. 64.

    Reality Check

    August 9, 2011 at 7:20 pm

    Not that I really give a crap about Obama’s church, either. He went there because he was a bi-racial guy from Hawaii raised by a white family who needed street cred with Chicago blacks when he entered politics. As soon as Wright was no longer need, right under the bus he goes!

  65. 65.

    Bob

    August 9, 2011 at 7:21 pm

    I thought you gave up cable TV.

  66. 66.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    August 9, 2011 at 7:22 pm

    @Reality Check:

    This. I was a serious Osmond fan in my youth, and I was also studying Religious Education as one of my GCE’s and CSE’s. For my CSE I had to do a two year project of some sort and I chose the Mormon Religion (for obvious reasons). I studied that bad boy inside and out, I literally devoured every book in the library (back in the good old days when research meant reading books and stuff), I had weekly visits from Missionaries (my mum got kind of tired that they would never have a cup of tea when they visited), after my two years of digging and reading and studying I came to the conclusion that they were no different than any other religion, they had no special sparkly pony that would draw me in, another sect of Christianity which I had already concluded was just a retelling of Egyptian legend with a heavy sprinkling of Pagan holidays thrown in for good measure.

    Of course once I discovered the FSM I was hooked.

  67. 67.

    RossInDetroit

    August 9, 2011 at 7:22 pm

    @Reality Check:

    Dude, right this moment you are talking out of your ass.

  68. 68.

    Cacti

    August 9, 2011 at 7:22 pm

    @Reality Check:

    Mormonism isn’t any more absurd than any other religion.

    True.

    But given its relative youth as a religious organization, many of its foundational claims aren’t lost to the mists of history and can be scrutinized more thoroughly.

    A reasonably intelligent adult with internet access can quickly determine that many doctrinal/historical claims of Mormonism are demonstrably false.

  69. 69.

    chopper

    August 9, 2011 at 7:22 pm

    romney’s strong response here is a tell.

  70. 70.

    LT

    August 9, 2011 at 7:23 pm

    Ben Smith tweeting “All I said is..” ignoring his actual line:

    None of the Obama advisers interviewed made any suggestion that Romney’s personal qualities would be connected to his minority Mormon faith, but the step from casting Romney as a bit off to raising questions about religion may not be a large step for some of the incumbent’s supporters.

  71. 71.

    Joe

    August 9, 2011 at 7:23 pm

    What’s your height and weight now? Your BMI? Have you considered the Paleo diet thingy?

  72. 72.

    jwb

    August 9, 2011 at 7:24 pm

    @Reality Check: Pawlenty has yet to show a spark of life. But, hey, you want to keep him around fine by me. His best chance for the Presidency at this point would be as Perry’s VP, and I think Perry would be more likely to choose someone like Rubio. I rate the race as Perry 50%, Romney 30%, Bachmann 10%, 9% someone not yet in the race, 1% anyone else already in the race. Much will depend on how Perry performs in the next 4-6 weeks, however. If he proves a dud, then all bets are off, especially for a late entry.

  73. 73.

    RossInDetroit

    August 9, 2011 at 7:24 pm

    @Litlebritdifrnt:

    Of course once I discovered the FSM I was hooked.

    Pretty much any religion with a beer volcano in their creation myth would have done it for me.
    Ramen!

  74. 74.

    bkny

    August 9, 2011 at 7:25 pm

    jennifer rubin has picked this up … ‘obama goes negative’ .. plus it’s apparently unacceptable to mention romney’s bain years .. because, well, just because.

    it’s an amazing column, even for her convoluted standards.

  75. 75.

    jwb

    August 9, 2011 at 7:26 pm

    @Hunter Gathers: Hey, Cole just tweeted that…

  76. 76.

    JGabriel

    August 9, 2011 at 7:26 pm

    John Cole:

    So Hardball had a segment tonight called “Swiftboat 2.0” in which David Brody “made the connection” for us between calling Romney weird and calling him a Mormon.

    So there’s a whole segment on national TV about a potential GOP nominee, the subtext being: Is this guy weird or what?

    I can live with that.

    .

  77. 77.

    Loneoak

    August 9, 2011 at 7:27 pm

    Obama’s team never said that Romney eats kitten popsicles, but it is only a small step from not saying to saying it.

  78. 78.

    bkny

    August 9, 2011 at 7:28 pm

    @Cacti: i want mitt to explain the magic underpants … any venue will do.

  79. 79.

    TG Chicago

    August 9, 2011 at 7:28 pm

    So we can see the downside of calling Romney “weird”. What’s the upside?

  80. 80.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    August 9, 2011 at 7:28 pm

    I hate to be a fanbot but John is so kicking Ben’s arse right now.

    “Team Obama didn’t say that Romney contracted AIDS from the corpse of Jesse Helms, therefore, some might say that …”

  81. 81.

    General Stuck

    August 9, 2011 at 7:29 pm

    @Dennis SGMM:

    You must have yet to be a Democrat

    Kiss my ass, and take your arrogant fatalism and shove it. I figured you’d be the first firebagger twit to start screeching.

    You’re not a democrat, you are a street corner preacher hollering the end is near. And thinking he has some special knowledge for reading the future. You don’t

  82. 82.

    freelancer

    August 9, 2011 at 7:29 pm

    that whacked out Sixties horror show every Sunday in Chicago

    aka Black church preaching liberation theology. Your racism, it’s peeking out at me!

  83. 83.

    Cacti

    August 9, 2011 at 7:29 pm

    @bkny:

    plus it’s apparently unacceptable to mention romney’s bain years .. because, well, just because.

    Speaking of Bain, Mittens has said that there is “no controversy” that a former Bain executive set up a shell corporation to funnel 1 million dollars to that Super PAC…

    Because…shut up, that’s why.

  84. 84.

    jwb

    August 9, 2011 at 7:30 pm

    @Litlebritdifrnt: I think Cole actually lifted that from the comments here: Hunter Gathers.

  85. 85.

    Reality Check

    August 9, 2011 at 7:30 pm

    @freelancer:

    I already said I don’t give a crap about Obama’s church. I know he doesn’t believe any of it. What church he once attended for purely political reasons is the LEAST of my concerns about him.

  86. 86.

    Cacti

    August 9, 2011 at 7:31 pm

    @bkny:

    i want mitt to explain the magic underpants … any venue will do.

    I’d rather he explain whether he personally believes the Book of Mormon teaching that black skin is “loathsome”.

  87. 87.

    wrb

    August 9, 2011 at 7:33 pm

    @Loneoak:

    Obama’s team never said that Romney eats kitten popsicles, but it is only a small step from not saying to saying it.

    Which inevitably raises the question of what he gets from inserting the stick in the probably still-living kitten before he freezes it alive.

    It would be irresponsible not to speculate.

  88. 88.

    jl

    August 9, 2011 at 7:33 pm

    @80 Litlebritdifrnt

    “Team Obama didn’t say that Romney contracted AIDS from the corpse of Jesse Helms, ”

    So, Cole is bringing up that old scandal again, huh? See, he’s a GOP mole.

    Now, it’s ‘out there’.

    See how he collaborates with Politico? The Payola goes into the Tuncher. How else could Cole keep him fed?

  89. 89.

    JPL

    August 9, 2011 at 7:34 pm

    I have antenna and Roku which allows be Al Jazeera but little else live and called a friend who watches Chris..
    This is her opinion..she thinks the Republican was shot down by Chris. Yes he was allowed to spout stuff but it wasn’t allowed to stand and he looked like a fool.
    I hope she’s right.

  90. 90.

    Jenny

    August 9, 2011 at 7:34 pm

    I remember when Palin was picked as veep, and PUMA blogs (you know the list) immediately decried every criticism made of her as unseemly and sexist, and predicted it would back fire.

    Hopefully the usual suspects are ignored again.

  91. 91.

    TG Chicago

    August 9, 2011 at 7:36 pm

    @Jenny:

    I didn’t know Mormons reject Jesus Christ as the Savior.

    Do they? Here’s an official LDS site.

    http://mormon.org/jesus-christ/

    It says:

    Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world and the Son of God.

    Kinda sounds like they accept Jesus Christ as the Savior.

  92. 92.

    birthmarker

    August 9, 2011 at 7:36 pm

    @Tom Hilton: Well, that is certainly true. I live in the deep south and certain protestant denominations have been denigrating Mormons pretty officially for two decades or more. A lot of the fundies here would go for a third party fundie candidate over a Mormon, I believe. Maybe Romney underestimates the depth of the hostility down here amongst many in the religious right?

  93. 93.

    Reality Check

    August 9, 2011 at 7:38 pm

    @TG Chicago:

    They have really hereteical view about the Trinity, and they’re polytheists.

    If you don’t believe in the Nicene Creed, you’re not Christian. Believing in Jesus isn’t enough, Muslims believe in Jesus, so do some Hindus.

    Mormonism is 19th Century frontier Christianity mixed with old-fashioned Roman Paganism and a hint of Islam.

  94. 94.

    Hunter Gathers

    August 9, 2011 at 7:39 pm

    @jwb: Awesome.

  95. 95.

    Southern Beale

    August 9, 2011 at 7:39 pm

    But Obama is a blackety-black MUSLIM ISLAMOFASCIST MADRASSAS PALLIN’ AROUND WITH TERRISS blabbedy blah blah blah.

    It’s what I was saying earlier: Republican rules!

  96. 96.

    Loneoak

    August 9, 2011 at 7:40 pm

    @TG Chicago:

    Kinda sounds like they accept Jesus Christ as the Savior.

    But not in the super cool way Protestant Evangelicals do, so it doesn’t count.

  97. 97.

    Jenny

    August 9, 2011 at 7:41 pm

    I hope no one make an issue of Romney’s hatred of Jesus.

    That wouldn’t be right.

    Romney is welcomed to reject and disbelieve Jesus all he wants.

    I hope no one holds that against him.

    Romney’s denial of Christianity is refreshing.

    Voters should let that bother them in any way, shape, or form.

  98. 98.

    jl

    August 9, 2011 at 7:45 pm

    @93 Reality Check

    “They have really hereteical view about the Trinity”

    Well, according to whom?

    Every Christian sect has a really heretical view of the Trinity compared to some other sect.

    The doctrine makes no sense in common sense or logical terms, so it all mystogogical flim flam.

    Uh, oh. I thought I was a liberal Christian, but I guess I am a heretic.

  99. 99.

    Josie

    August 9, 2011 at 7:45 pm

    Has anyone considered that this might be a preemptive story to draw attention away from a possibly interesting event in Wisconsin?

  100. 100.

    jwb

    August 9, 2011 at 7:49 pm

    @Josie: We can hope. When do the polls close?

  101. 101.

    MikeBoyScout

    August 9, 2011 at 7:49 pm

    None of the Obama advisers interviewed made any suggestion that Romney’s personal qualities would be connected to his fetish for ass pinches, but the step from casting Romney as a bit off to raising questions about his fetish for ass pinches may not be a large step for some of the incumbent’s supporters.

    One small step for the incumbent’s supporters. One giant leap for mankind.

  102. 102.

    JWL

    August 9, 2011 at 7:51 pm

    “Governor Romney, do you believe in angels, and that an angel named Moroni revealed itself to Joseph Smith in the 19th century”?

    Romney: “Yes, I do”.

    Checkmate.

    Over the centuries politicians have skated when answering in the affirmative about the divinity of Christ. But I do not believe that will be the case when a Mormon is queried about the foundation upon which the Latter Day Saints have constructed their church. This Politico rubbish is simply a clumsy effort to suppress that single question, one that I believe should be asked Mr. Romney. I would say as much were a scientologist in the running for the presidency, or a druid.

  103. 103.

    TG Chicago

    August 9, 2011 at 7:51 pm

    @Loneoak: I see your point. :-)

  104. 104.

    R. Porrofatto

    August 9, 2011 at 7:52 pm

    Over at the Times, the Boy Pundit piles on. The stupidity metastasizes.

  105. 105.

    Lysana

    August 9, 2011 at 7:52 pm

    @93 You left out the Masonic parts, though I’ll grant that’s a close overlap to Christianty and a fair chunk of that is the symbols. Where the LDS Church has a sniff test problem is indeed its history. Smith was a grifter. Their holiest book may have been stolen property. And there’s the blood on their hands. Not to mention the political scurrilousness.

  106. 106.

    Jenny

    August 9, 2011 at 7:54 pm

    @chopper:

    romney’s strong response here is a tell.

    You mean, “The Lady Doth Protest too Much”?

  107. 107.

    Josie

    August 9, 2011 at 7:55 pm

    @jwb: 9:00 eastern standard

  108. 108.

    jl

    August 9, 2011 at 7:56 pm

    Maybe Romney can pull out the ‘Washington/Adams/Jefferson’ exception.

  109. 109.

    Maude

    August 9, 2011 at 7:57 pm

    @Josie:
    Good point.

  110. 110.

    fasteddie9318

    August 9, 2011 at 8:03 pm

    I really do hope Mittens left a little something extra on Ben Smith’s nightstand when he fed this story to Politico. I’d hate to think that a first-rate whore like Ben wasn’t getting paid top dollar.

  111. 111.

    Ron

    August 9, 2011 at 8:04 pm

    Gah, it’s stupid enough as it is, but I threw up a little in my mouth when Tweety praised Politico for great reporting.

  112. 112.

    lamh34

    August 9, 2011 at 8:05 pm

    I see Ben is enjoying what his hit piece has done, he’s posting a Romney response video at his blog now.

  113. 113.

    hamletta

    August 9, 2011 at 8:06 pm

    @Reality Check:

    If you don’t believe in the Nicene Creed, you’re not Christian.

    Baptists don’t do creeds, dude. And while they adhere to most of the Creeds’ tenets, I’m not sure they’re down with the last bits, like “one holy, catholic, and apostolic church.”

  114. 114.

    Reality Check

    August 9, 2011 at 8:08 pm

    @jl:

    According to the Nicene Creed. The Nicene Creed is the common denominator. Also, being baptized in “father son and holy spirit”. The Mormons do neither.

  115. 115.

    Reality Check

    August 9, 2011 at 8:10 pm

    @hamletta:

    They recite it in every Baptist Church I’ve ever seen. They just call it “profession of faith” or some such, but the same words.

    Small-c catholic is not the same as big-C Catholic.

  116. 116.

    Joseph Nobles

    August 9, 2011 at 8:10 pm

    Ben Smith took an obvious truth about weird-ass Mitt Romney and turned it into a dogwhistle about Romney’s religion. Chris Wallace sealed the deal. Romney’s already running fundraisers on it.

    But the worst thing: now the convential wisdom will be that the Kenyan Mooslim anti-colonial milquetoast job-killer will have been the first to go negative in this campaign season.

  117. 117.

    Karen

    August 9, 2011 at 8:12 pm

    And a Mormon STILL has a better chance of becoming President than a Jewish person.

    Besides, didn’t the press always talk about how awkward Obama was (and still talks about it?) and how people want a guy for President that they can have a beer with instead of an arugula loving elitist?

  118. 118.

    xian

    August 9, 2011 at 8:13 pm

    @General Stuck: those are good choices. I can think of a lot worse. Though Baucus was an idiot in the ACA process.

  119. 119.

    WaterGirl

    August 9, 2011 at 8:14 pm

    @Jenny: I can’t wait to see the answer. i had kind of thought chopper’s comment meant that this whole story was a plant from Romney to make Obama look bad.

  120. 120.

    Jenny

    August 9, 2011 at 8:19 pm

    Romney is the gay candidate for president

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yY7st_kr2Q

  121. 121.

    jl

    August 9, 2011 at 8:20 pm

    @114
    But what the Nicene creed means in terms of what the Trinity is, is what the whole filioque controversy was (is?) about (and I freely admit that after a couple of tries, I have no idea what the filioque controversy is supposed to be about). And there are at least three versions of the creed. As I remember, the western church kept fiddling with the creed (why I don’t know, I guess they needed something truly incomprehensible to argue about and produce schisms). And the problem of what the creed says the Trinity is, was settled by fudging. So, you are getting really legalistic here, seems to me.

    But, maybe you are just doing some anti Romney oppo propaganda.

    It will be interesting if Romney is the candidate, if they get into this stuff. I can hardly wait for the Politico story on the filioque, which is easy to speculate about, since the whole business is incomprehensible.

  122. 122.

    Raven (formerly stuckinred)

    August 9, 2011 at 8:20 pm

    @Karen: Funny, you don’t look buddhist.

  123. 123.

    hamletta

    August 9, 2011 at 8:21 pm

    @Reality Check: They do? Where? “God from God; Light from Light,” that Nicene Creed? I don’t think so.

    The Baptist Profession of Faith is a confession. Totally different.

  124. 124.

    General Stuck

    August 9, 2011 at 8:22 pm

    @xian:

    Though Baucus was an idiot in the ACA process.

    Yes, he was. And idiot is the right word. Not a sellout. But the thing about Baucus is that when all said and done, he folds himself squarely inside the overall dem tent in the senate and votes with his caucus. He will this time with preserving SS and medicare benefits.

  125. 125.

    Heliopause

    August 9, 2011 at 8:24 pm

    the conventional wisdom in the beltway is that Team Obama is attacking Romney for being a Mormon… And the Obama team has said NOTHING… Meanwhile, the Romney campaign doesn’t even need codetalkers like Smith and Martin- they just go all in

    You emos really get tiresome after a while. Maybe instead of whining about how the GOP turned this into a news cycle victory you could suggest ways your own side can do something similar. Or would you rather bitch and moan like a high schooler about how the world is so unfair to you?

  126. 126.

    AxelFoley

    August 9, 2011 at 8:25 pm

    @Reality Check:

    Cole, why is this asshole still here?

  127. 127.

    Karen

    August 9, 2011 at 8:25 pm

    @Raven (formerly stuckinred):

    @Karen: Funny, you don’t look buddhist.

    I’ve got reddish brown hair, green eyes and freckles. I’ve been told I don’t look Jewish either.

  128. 128.

    hamletta

    August 9, 2011 at 8:25 pm

    @jl: Oy. Tell me about it. Any discussion of trinitarian theology, and I have to lie down in a dark room.

    Like that weirdo Michele Bachmann.

  129. 129.

    SiubhanDuinne

    August 9, 2011 at 8:28 pm

    @Litlebritdifrnt:

    Litlebritdifrnt – August 9, 2011 | 7:22 pm · Link

    I came to the conclusion that [Mormons] were no different than any other religion, they had no special sparkly pony that would draw me in, another sect of Christianity which I had already concluded was just a retelling of Egyptian legend with a heavy sprinkling of Pagan holidays thrown in for good measure.

    Of course once I discovered the FSM I was hooked.

    Keep it up and you’ll soon be a Sufi like M_C!

  130. 130.

    arguingwithsignposts

    August 9, 2011 at 8:32 pm

    @Reality Check:

    They recite it in every Baptist Church I’ve ever seen. They just call it “profession of faith” or some such, but the same words.

    You, sir/ma’am, are about as bad on baptist theology as toker chan is on islam.

    I spent years in baptist churches, and I *never* heard the Nicene Creed OR the Baptist “Statement of Faith” (Faith & Message in the Southern Baptist Church) recited.

  131. 131.

    Emma

    August 9, 2011 at 8:35 pm

    @Reality Check: Another mind reader. Honey, you don’t need a job. Just set up your tent in any circus sideshow.

  132. 132.

    SiubhanDuinne

    August 9, 2011 at 8:35 pm

    @Josie: Eastern Daylight maybe?

  133. 133.

    Lyrebird

    August 9, 2011 at 8:38 pm

    @General Stuck:

    Thanks, what I saw at GOS was a quoted freakout about Sen. Murray, followed by a more measured discussion. Wish it didn’t start with “It could be worse” but oh well it’s her (McJoan’s) article not mine.

    Glad to see some willingness to reflect on reality over here.

  134. 134.

    Lojasmo

    August 9, 2011 at 8:41 pm

    @Reality Check:

    There are millions of buddhists who know for certain that you are full of crap.

    And take it from a Minnesotan: Pawlenty is not in the running.

  135. 135.

    TooManyJens

    August 9, 2011 at 8:44 pm

    I have been livid about this bullfuckery all day. What happened here is that Ben Smith and Jonathan Martin called Romney’s religion weird and got Obama blamed for it. I gather from reading Ben’s tweets to Cole that he may be too stupid to have set it up that way on purpose, but that’s still what happened. And of course, the media and Our Liberal Betters(tm) fell for it.

    And oh, by the way, this gives the right a handy-dandy way to discredit the concept of dogwhistles.

    ::insert primal scream here::

  136. 136.

    Jenny

    August 9, 2011 at 9:02 pm

    I just remembered.

    Rick Perry just held a revival with Pastor John Hagee who hates Jews and Catholics, but that’s ok, because Perry is a Republican.

    Obama’s campaign says Romney is weird, and some how that’s an attack on Romney’s religion.

  137. 137.

    cleek

    August 9, 2011 at 9:05 pm

    it’s the RASH.

  138. 138.

    Jenny

    August 9, 2011 at 9:07 pm

    Interesting. Rachel Maddow points out that the GOP’s 59% disapproval rating is an all time high in the two decades since CNN began polling that question.

  139. 139.

    slightly-peeved

    August 9, 2011 at 9:09 pm

    Well, mormonism is closer to sufi islam than anything else…
    * runs *

  140. 140.

    Jenny

    August 9, 2011 at 9:14 pm

    GOS s @Heliopause:

    GOP turned this into a news cycle victory

    Really? Before today, I had no idea Romney didn’t accept Jesus as his Savior. I could care less, but wait until the evangelicals and fundies hear about that.

  141. 141.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    August 9, 2011 at 9:18 pm

    Wow, a couple of media hacks work up a bullshit ‘story’ about how Team Obama may not have brought up the religion angle in regards to Romney, but that even though they never brought it up it’s possible that Obama supporters might do it themselves. This is supposed to be a “story”? Ben Smith ought to change his name at the top of his posts to his initials: BS.

    Martin can FOAD.

    Worthless media hacks. That’s all they are. Worthless.

  142. 142.

    hilts

    August 9, 2011 at 9:22 pm

    Chris Matthews is an enormous waste of protoplasm.

    Hopefully, there’s a special place in Hell reserved for this raving, drooling, smarmy monstrosity.

  143. 143.

    Joe Bauers

    August 9, 2011 at 9:45 pm

    I started to say I don’t endorse religious attacks, but you know what? I don’t care any more. Remind me what political price the Republicans have paid for calling Barack HUSSEIN!!!1!! Obama an uppity Muslim Soshulist as many times in as many ways as they could manage.

    Playing by the Marquess of Queensberry Rules against these motherfuckers is a losing game. We keep thinking it’s a boxing match, they know it’s a gun fight. (Hell, they come out and say so, literally.) Pointing out that Weird Willard is weird should be the nicest thing said about him.

  144. 144.

    General Stuck

    August 9, 2011 at 9:47 pm

    @JPL:

    I really really wanted Whitehouse or Brown but I have never been a supporter of Reid who made the decision. I hope he knows something I don’t.

    Whatever you think of Reid, and there is much room to criticize his stint as dem Majority leader in the Senate, there likely is no one in elected office that is more of a stalwart for protecting SS and Medicare, than Harry Reid. That part I do trust about him.

  145. 145.

    Comrade Carter

    August 9, 2011 at 10:46 pm

    You don’t need to “stroke out”, I’ve had two (so far), and they aren’t fun nor do they do anything for your job. (The one you might have had before the strokes.)

    Everybody:

    DON’T STROKE OUT

  146. 146.

    TenguPhule

    August 10, 2011 at 3:08 am

    I would say as much were a scientologist in the running for the presidency, or a druid.

    Hey fuck you, Druids at least believe in honest blood sacrifice of political enemies when crops are going bad.

  147. 147.

    Rihility Check (temporarily not Rihilism)

    August 10, 2011 at 8:14 am

    The race is now between the weirdo, the faux Jesus-freak, and the snoozefest…

    I would say as much were a scientologist in the running for the presidency, or a druid.

    Yes, yes. Those religions adhere to such incredibly bizarre beliefs don’t they? Well, at least the angel that appeared to Smith didn’t tell him, “Honey, God just tapped yer sweet young ass and now yer preggers…yer welcome!”, cause that’d be absolutely loony, amirite, folks?…

  148. 148.

    Rihilism

    August 10, 2011 at 8:19 am

    Moderation? Was it the temporary name change or “…tapped yer sweet young ass…”?

  149. 149.

    Rihilism

    August 10, 2011 at 8:20 am

    Now my comment is gone. Probably for the best…

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