Brew City Brawler

WPRI: Obama is hella popular in Wisconsin

A PPP poll shows that Obama beats all Republican comers in Wisconsin in 2012 (Palin, Romney, Huckabee, Gingrich), but that's not a surprise to anyone who looked at the WPRI's post-election poll showing Obama had a 53% job approval rating.

Indeed, fully 18% of Republicans gave him a favorable rating.

Sykes et al like to talk about Obama's cratering popularity. In Wisconsin, maybe not so much. It's worth noting that Obama's much demagogued health care plan (Sykes was out early with the Death Panel charge) has only 40% approval, but, then again, that's only 5 points less than Walker's.

Mandate

Remember when Republicans declared Obama -- who had run on a platform of health care reform -- had a mandate when he was elected president with 53 percent of the vote with 57% turnout, the highest in 40 years? Yeah, me neither.

Attacking Paul Ryan: Democratic jujitsu or just another ineffectual parlor game?

The Brawler 100% supports Democratic efforts to make the Republican Party own Paul Ryan's Road Map to An Early Grave for Poor Seniors. From Talking Points Memo:

You thought Republicans were going to be able to wiggle away from their historic support for privatizing Medicare and Social Security? Think again.

Leading Democrats aren't letting the GOP put much distance between themselves and a new, long-term budget proposal written by their top budget guy, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI).

"That's their budget plan," Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)--chair of the House Democrats' reelection committee--told me in a brief interview. "He's the ranking Republican member on the Budget Committee. That is their so-called roadmap. And it's a roadmap right into the economic ditch that we got ourselves to begin with.... Put it this way. For seniors on Medicare, it's a dead end."

Van Hollen says Republicans should own up to their own ideas, and debate them on the merits, or else stop complaining when Democrats accuse them of being the Party of No.

The Republicans have been able to attack the Democratic plans on the most pressing issues of the day without offering anything of substance on their own. Paul Ryan's changed that. The fact that his vision of the future envisions tax cuts for the wealthy and poor folks not being able to afford the treatment they need is a powerful point of differentiation. The fact that John Boehner is distancing the House GOP from the plan -- though he really can't say why -- just makes the GOP look all the more feckless.

All this makes for great framing, but unless accompanied by decisive action it's not going to count for much. Which is why the Brawler hopes the Dems act on this pivot and  pass a bill -- as opposed to hoping the GOP will be shamed into coming to the table. Because that ain't going to happen.

(More at Paul Ryan Watch.)

Thank god Tosa, West Bend, Elmbrook et al won't shove this Obama school indoctrination speech down kids' throats!

If you read the Obama school speech backwards, it sounds like "My sweet Satan." Thankfully some parents, so concerned that Obama's words could upend years of their kids conservative indoctrination upbringing, will bar their kids from hearing this :

Now I know it's not always easy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork.

I get it. I know what that's like. My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mother who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn't always able to give us things the other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and felt like I didn't fit in.

So I wasn't always as focused as I should have been. I did some things I'm not proud of, and got in more trouble than I should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse.

But I was fortunate. I got a lot of second chances and had the opportunity to go to college, and law school, and follow my dreams. My wife, our First Lady Michelle Obama, has a similar story. Neither of her parents had gone to college, and they didn't have much. But they worked hard, and she worked hard, so that she could go to the best schools in this country.

Some of you might not have those advantages. Maybe you don't have adults in your life who give you the support that you need. Maybe someone in your family has lost their job, and there's not enough money to go around. Maybe you live in a neighborhood where you don't feel safe, or have friends who are pressuring you to do things you know aren't right.

But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life - what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you've got going on at home - that's no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That's no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. That's no excuse for not trying.

Where you are right now doesn't have to determine where you'll end up. No one's written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future.

That's what young people like you are doing every day, all across America.

Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas. Jazmin didn't speak English when she first started school. Hardly anyone in her hometown went to college, and neither of her parents had gone either. But she worked hard, earned good grades, got a scholarship to Brown University, and is now in graduate school, studying public health, on her way to being Dr. Jazmin Perez.

I'm thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, who's fought brain cancer since he was three. He's endured all sorts of treatments and surgeries, one of which affected his memory, so it took him much longer - hundreds of extra hours - to do his schoolwork. But he never fell behind, and he's headed to college this fall.

And then there's Shantell Steve, from my hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Even when bouncing from foster home to foster home in the toughest neighborhoods, she managed to get a job at a local health center; start a program to keep young people out of gangs; and she's on track to graduate high school with honors and go on to college.

Jazmin, Andoni and Shantell aren't any different from any of you. They faced challenges in their lives just like you do. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility for their education and set goals for themselves. And I expect all of you to do the same.

Wow, the GOP really is Rush Limbaugh's party

This is a stunning display.

And The Brawler thinks there may be wisdom to these words:

The mistake the Republicans are making here is a basic one: now they’ve admitted that they take orders from Rush, they’re on the hook for all the crazy ass things he says on the show. And that’s not a good place to be.

Yesterday, I was not optimistic about the politics of the stimulus bill. Now I think that it’s a Category Three Schiavo Political Event for Republicans.

What does Charlie think about this?

Obama's new bargaining position

Given that Obama is popular, the stimulus plan enjoys broadbased support and most people hate the Republican  congressional caucus -- and that Obama explicitly made attempts to solicit GOP support for his bill (and embraced tax cuts) -- The Brawler wonders if Obama will be taking a new bargaining stance now that House Republicans voted en bloc against the bill.

I'm sure Rahm Emanuel knows the scene by heart:

Senator Pat Geary: I can get you a gaming license. The price is $250,000.
Michael Corleone: Now, the price of a gaming license it less than $20,000. Is that correct?
Senator Pat Geary: Yes.
Michael Corleone: So why would I ever consider paying more than that?
Senator Pat Geary: Because I intend to squeeze you. ...

Senator Pat Geary: I want your answer and the money by noon tomorrow. And one more thing. Don't you contact me again, ever. From now on, you deal with Turnbull.
Michael Corleone: Senator? You can have my answer now, if you like. My final offer is this: nothing. Not even the fee for the gaming license, which I would appreciate if you would put up personally.

He and Boehner have the same tan!

Brawler's stock market prediction

Charlie Sykes was disappointed -- sorely disappointed -- that the stock market did not tank yesterday after Obama introduced his economic team, promised a big stimulus package and reaffirmed his commitment to soak the rich.

He spent the morning arguing that government action has far more bearings on the market these days. He went on to say it would be interesting to see what the market's reaction would be to Obama's announcement. As Obama spoke, Charlie butted in to say that the Dow Jones had slipped to being up 200 while it was up 300 before Obama began dropping science on the populace. Sadly for Charlie, the DJIA ended up 400 for the day.

So the Brawler's stock market prediction for the day is: If the Dow dips today -- which wouldn't be unusual given it had a historic runup the two prior days -- Sykes will attribute it to the market sleeping on Obama's proposals and panicking upon waking up. Dow futures were down overnight.

When, of course, the actual reason for any decline will be a universal recognition that the Packers D sucks.